BOOKS    BY 
I  S  S     HO3PKINS 

Arrow  Head  Light  $1-25 

Blue  Badge  Boys  I>25 

Floy  Lindsley  i.oo 

Good  Times  Girls  1.50 

Harry  Fenimore's  Princi- 
ples i  .00 
Judge  Havisham's  Will  1.25 
Ready  and  Willing  1.25 
Ruthie's  Venture  i.oo 
Tall  Chestnuts  of  Van  Dyke  i  .50 
Up  to  the  Mark  i.oo 


'THE  CHAIN  WILL  HOLD."    Page  13.    FRONTISPIECE;. 


Judge  HaYis  tian/s  Will, 


BY 


MISS  I.  T.   HOPKINS, 

•  AUTHOR  OF  "BLUE-BADGE  BOYS,"  "THE  TALL  CHESTNUT!  OF 
VANDYKE,"  -  ARROW  HEAD  LIGHT,"  ETC. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU   STREET,   NEW  YORK   CITY. 


COPYRIGHT,  1888, 
BY  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Havisham  Place .................      7 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Dandelion  Link .............     16 

CHAPTER  III. 

Holding  On ~ 25 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Postman's  Ring .................    33 

CHAPTER  V. 
Vivian  — 41 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  Grind  at  the  Mill 49 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Judge's  Promise ................    56 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Thorns  in  the  Pillow 64 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A  Broken  Bow 74 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Mysterious  Words 85 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  "  Last  Will " 94 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Battle  Begun 101 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Vivian's  Return ; 107 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Who  Shall  be  Right? 113 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Right  Key 119 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Keeping  Up  the  Fight 124 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Is  there  a  Chance? 136 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

What  is  the  Matter  with  the  Will? 147 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

No  More  Havisham  House ____.._—_  155 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Off  to  the  Country  Seat. 163 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

How  do  you  Like  It? -...  171 


CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Shouldering  Up . 180 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  Hundred  Miles  Below  Level 187 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Hard  Questions — — —  194 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Thick  of  the  Fight aoi 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Battling  for  Lee._ 208 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Trouble  for  Cyp— ... 220 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Temptation,  and  a  Score  to  Pay 226 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A  Blow  for  Bent— _ 234 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Hand-to-Hand  Fighting 241 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

At  the  Last  Moment . 250 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Hold?  or  Let  Go? 262 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Turned  into  Day 271 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Reparation _. 279 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Joy  Cometh  in  the  Morning :. ......... 291 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

All  Right  at  Last — — — 299 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
A  White  Day,  and  More  to  Follow 305 


JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  HAVISHAM   PLACE. 

THE  old  "Havisham  Place"  seemed  to  be 
centre,  focus,  beginning,  and  end  with  the  town 
and  the  people  of  Edinburgh  Heights.  If  a 
stranger  asked  direction,  the  reply  was  sure  to 
be,  "Keep  on  till  you  reach  the  Havisham  House, 
and  then  turn."  If  the  young  people  wanted  a 
rallying  point,  it  was,  "Meet  by  the  Havisham 
Place  ;' '  or  if  they  came  in  glowing  from  a  frosty 
walk,  or  dreamy  from  a  moonlight  one,  they  were 
almost  sure  to  have  been  "as  far  as  the  Havi- 
sham House  and  back.'* 

The  town  had  doubled  and  trebled  since  the 
Havisham  House  was  young,  but  the  growth  had 
stretched  so  evenly  about  it  that  its  relative  posi- 
tion did  not  seem  changed,  while  the  pride  of  the 
Edinburghers  increased  as  one  touch  of  modern 
improvement  after  another  added  charm  to  the 
solid  respectability  it  always  had.  The  short 
sloping  lawn  was  a  faultless  carpet  of  green,  a 


8  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

bit  of  conservatory  sheltered  itself  in  a  cornei 
against  a  wing,  and  the  pillars  of  the  broad, 
rounded  piazza,  had  just  been  connected  by  a 
simple  design  of  arches  that  broke  the  view  of 
river  and  hills  into  separate  bits  of  landscape,  set 
as  in  picture-frames. 

Altogether  the  house  had  quite  as  much  of 
to-day  as  of  yesterday  about  it ;  and  as  for  its 
owners,  Bentley,  or  "Bent,"  the  old  butler,  was 
the  only  member  of  the  household  who  could 
claim  the  dignity  of  years.  "Mr.  Thorpe,"  as 
he  still  persisted  in  calling  Judge  Havisham,  the 
master  of  the  house,  though  perhaps  on  the  wa- 
ning side  of  middle  life,  was  in  the  full  strength 
and  vigor  of  it  still,  and  never  thought  of  himself 
as  a  day  older  than  twenty  years  ago ;  while  it 
was  only  since  "Mr.  Wynthrop's"  sixteenth 
birthday  that  Bent  had  laid  a  cover  for  him  at 
ceremonious  dinners;  and  as  for  "Mr.  Cyp," 
Bent  still  gave  him  a  chair  a  trifle  higher  than 
the  other  two. 

Ceremonious  or  every-day  as  the  dinner  might 
be,  the  laying  of  the  table  was  a  grave  and 
important  form  in  the  old  butler's  eyes,  and  he 
had  an  unfailing  habit  of  going  backward  a  few 
steps,  taking  a  slow,  critical  look  at  his  work, 
and  returning  for  some  slight  change  in  the  posi- 
tion of  a  piece  of  silver  or  glass.  Then  he*  would 
retreat  again,  and  come  as  quietly  back  for  an- 
other improving  touch. 


THE   HAVISHAM   PLACE.  9 

But  even  after  criticism  could  be  defied,  some- 
thing seemed  unsatisfactory  still  to  Bent,  and  a 
deprecating  shake  of  the  head  was  very  apt  to 
say  so  as  he  cast  his  last  lingering  look. 

"There's  no  balance  nor  consistency  nor 
considerate  effect  to  a  three-sided  table,'*  he 
would  murmur  as  he  vanished  through  the  door. 
"No,  nor  Providence  either,  in  this  case;  for  it 
can  never  be  of  His  pleasure  that  Miss  Vivian 
shouldn't  stay  with  her  father,  and  two  boys  of 
an  age  like  that!  It  was  quite  right  she  should 
marry,  no  doubt ;  but  it 's  well  enough  known 
she 's  free  to  live  where  she  chooses,  for  all  that. 
The  old  home  isn't  gay  enough  for  her,  they 
say;  but  can't  she  bring  what  she  likes  with  her 
and  make  it  so?  There's  no  restriction  upon 
any  wish  of  hers,  the  land  knows,  while  Mr. 
Thorpe  lives.  No,  no ;  there 's  another  reason 
than  that,  another  reason  and  a  worse  one, 
more  's  the  pity !  though  I  hope  there 's  no  eye 
but  mine  keen-sighted  enough  to  make  it  out" 

Bent  had  but  one  confidant  in  all  these  half- 
whispered  reflections — the  inside  of  his  butler's 
pantry;  and  it  was  receiving  them  for  the  twen- 
tieth time  one  soft  spring  afternoon  as  the  judge's 
quick,  firm  step  was  heard  nearing  the  dining- 
room  door. 

Bent  started.  It  was  an  old  servant's  right 
to  be  interested,  but  to  criticise  was  quite  another 
thing;  and  how  could  he  be  sure  which  uMr. 


io  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

Thorpe"  might  consider  him  to  be  about  if  he 
happened  to  overhear  ? 

But  no;  the  step  was  only  passing,  not  com- 
ing in,  and  the  pantry  door  was  only  open  a 
crack.  It  was  impossible  the  judge  should  have 
heard.  He  was  at  the  threshold  of  the  front  door 
now,  lingering  a  moment,  and  then  out  upon  the 
hard  old  porch.  Bent  drew  a  sigh  of  relief ;  Mr. 
Thorpe  was  only  going  to  his  favorite  piazza- 
chair  to  read. 

"Not  that  it  is  in  nature,"  Bent  began  again, 
but  silently  this  time,  as  he  gave  his  silver  tray 
a  polish  it  did  not  need;  "  not  that  it  is  in  nature 
for  a  man  to  feel  those  he  loves  best  gone  against, 
and  never  let  his  tongue  say  so  to  himself ;  but 
when  he's  done  that  he's  been  far  enough,  and 
walls  have  ears,  if  the  old  saying  is  true." 

Whoever  might  be  u  gone  against,"  however, 
Bent's  master  did  not  seem  to  be  troubling  him- 
self about  the  fact  as  he  luxuriated  in  the  first 
touch  of  summer,  in  spite  of  the  book  before  his 
eyes.  It  was  a  knotty  question  in  law  he  was 
working  at,  but  its  cobwebs  could  not  keep  off 
the  delicious  air,  the  breath  of  flowers,  or  the 
song  of  an  oriole  building  in  the  swing  of  an  elm 
bough  on  the  lawn. 

The  book  was  laid  down,  now  and  then,  on 
the  judge's  knee,  and  his  hand  passed  hastily 
through  his  handsome  hair.  These  first  spring 
days  always  did  bring  back  the  very  same  old 


THE   HAVISHAM  PLACE. 

feeling  he  had  when  he  was  d  boy  !  And  what 
was  the  use  of  being  anything  but  a  boy,  after 
all  ?  He  had  a  great  mind  to  let  some  other  law- 
yer take  this  case,  and —  What  was  Cyp  doing 
down  there  in  the  grass?  if  grass  it  Could  be 
called,  shaven  and  shorn  like  that.  What  times 
he  could  remember  in  the  yard-high  rank  grass  of 
the  old  mowing  lot,  where  ground-sparrow  eggs 
and  strawberries  were  found  side  by  side  !  The 
book  went  down  at  last  with  a  toss;  he  would 
know  what  that  youngster  was  after  out  there. 

"Cyp!" 

A  head,  with  a  straw  hat  pushed  back  and 
a  pair  of  eager  eyes,  popped  up. 

"What  are  you  hunting  there,  you  young  ras- 
cal ?  If  it 's  a  diamond  mine,  why  don't  you  call 
me  to  go  shares?" 

A  gay  laugh  was  the  answer,  and  a  hand  held 
up  a  bunch  of  violets,  blue  as  the  sky.  "Just 
these,  that's  all.  It's  to  hang  a  May  basket  on 
Mab's  door.  When  Bent  goes  home  he  '11  find  it, 
don't  you  see?" 

The  whole  figure  was  up  now,  and  coming 
towards  Judge  Havisham's  seat,  the  tiny  basket 
in  one  hand  and  the  flowers  in  the  other;  but 
there  was  some  perplexity  after  all;  that  waS 
plain;  Cyp's  step  was  hesitating,  and  there  was  a 
wrinkle  of  heavy  thought  between  his  €yes. 

"I  can't — you  see,  I  can't — tell  what  I  can 
hang  it  with,"  he  said,  in  divisions,  as  he  mounted 


12  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

one  after  another  of  the  piazza,  steps.  "I  can 
get  plenty  of  strings,  but  Mab  is  too  good  for  a 
string." 

"Too  good  for  a  string?"  laughed  the  judge. 
"You're  a  cavalier  worth  having,  Cyprian. 
How  would  a  chain  of  gold  meet  your  views? 
There  it  grows;  not  on  our  side  of  the  street,  but 
on  the  other,  where  that  marauding  old  lawn- 
mower  of  Waite's  can't  reach.  Take  yourself 
over  there  and  bring  back  a  handful,  and  you 
have  the  thing." 

Cyp's  eyes  flew  across  the  street  to  a  bit  of 
roadside  banked  with  great  dandelion  heads,  yel- 
low as  the  sun,  and  in  another  instant  he  had  fol- 
lowed with  a  flying  step. 

' '  It  does  n'  t  take  that  youngster  long  to  catch 
an  idea,"  said  "Mr.  Thorpe,"  as  he  watched  him 
go.  "Heigho  !  I  wish  I  could  get  hold  of  one 
for  myself  and  settle  that  case,"  and  he  glanced 
reluctantly  at  his  book  where  it  lay.  But  no;  it 
might  lie  there.  Cyp  was  back  again  now,  and 
the  dandelion  chain  should  come  next. 

"Now,  sir,"  said  the  judge,  as  the  links  went 
together  and  the  chain  grew,  "the  same  misera- 
ble question  that  tries  every  man's  work  is  going 
to  level  at  this.  Will  it  hold?  It's  an  unpleas- 
ant question,  true  enough,  but  you'll  have  to 
stand  it.  Hang  it  on  your  own  door-knob  and 
see  what  you  've  got." 

There  was  a  moment  of  suspense,  breathless 


THE   HAVISHAM   PLACE.  13 

on  Cyp's  part,  as  the  Havisham  door-handle  had 
the  weight  of  Mab's  basket  slowly  and  cautiously 
left  upon  it  by  an  excited  little  hand. 

The  chain  stretched,  the  links  lengthened, 
the  position  of  the  whole  was  changed,  but — it 
held! 

Cyp  drew  back  the  hand  that  had  kept  guard 
under  it,  ready  to  save  a  fall,  with  a  cry  of  delight 
11  It  will !  It  will !  And  it 's  the  little  one  that 's 
doing  it,  too,  after  all !"  and  he  pointed  to  the 
smallest  link  of  the  chain. 

Slenderest  stem  of  all,  least  in  circumference 
by  half,  it  lay  against  the  polished  brass  of  the 
old  knob  just  where  the  sharpest  strain  seemed  to 
come.  Its  curve  was  doubled  into  a  sharp  corner 
at  one  point,  but  it  never  flinched. 

"Bravo!"  said  the  judge.  "Sticks  like  a 
brave  fellow,  doesn't  it?  Now  take  yourself  off. 
You  make  a  youngster  of  me,  instead  of  the  poor 
drudge  I  am;"  and  he  took  up  his  book  with  a  wry 
face  that  always  delighted  Cyp.  At  this  moment 
the  clatter  of  hoofs  was  heard,  and  a  finely  groomed 
horse,  with  a  rider  firm  in  his  seat,  came  whirling 
into  the  yard.  u  There  !  there  comes  the  boy  that 
is  half  way  between  us.  He  has  nothing  to  do, 
I'll  warrant  Take  him  for  your  mate.  Idling  is 
bad  business  for  an  unlucky  fellow  like  me. ' ' 

A  man  stepped  from  the  stable  at  the  sound  of 
the  horse's  feet,  and  Wynthrop  threw  him  the 
rein.  "Blackwing  will  need  a  good  rubbing, 


14  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Waite;  I've  given  him  a  great  run,"  he  said  as 
he  sprang  to  the  ground. 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  Waite  respectfully,  and 
Wynt  turned  to  enter  the  house. 

Waite  looked  after  him  silently  a  moment  as 
he  went,  his  dark,  almost  olive-skinned  face 
shaded  by  his  riding-cap  and  his  black  eyes  cast 
quietly  upon  the  ground.  Then  Waite  gave  a 
little  shake  of  his  head. 

"It  passes  me,"  he  ejaculated  mentally;  "a 
young  gentleman  with  all  that  one  has  in  him, 
and  the  quiet  way  he  has  with  it  all.  It 's  there, 
though,  we  all  know,  and  folks  will  find  it  out 
some  day — the  rest  of  it,  I  mean." 

He  faced  about  to  lead  the  horse  away,  and  so 
missed  seeing  that  Wynt's  eyes  lifted  just  in  time 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  group  on  the  piazza,  and 
that  he  turned  instantly  in  that  direction  and 
went  up  the  steps  with  a  spring. 

"Yes!"  shouted  Cyp,  dragging  him  towards 
the  door.  "See;  it's  the  little  one  that's  doing 
it,  I  tell  you,  the  smallest  one  of  all !" 

"The  little  one  is  doing  it,  eh?  How  is 
that?"  asked  Wynt  absently,  his  thoughts  not 
yet  finding  the  situation  altogether  clear. 

"I  don't  know.  I  suppose  it  thought  it 
would  hold  on  tighter  the  harder  things  pulled," 
answered  Cyp,  excitement  still  shining  out  of  his 
eyes. 

Wynt  laughed  pleasantly,  but  a  low,  quiet 


THE   HAVISHAM   PLACE.  15 

laugh  that  just  changed  the  expression  of  his 
handsome  mouth,  and  that  Waite  would  have 
felt  gave  emphasis  to  his  reflections  of  a  moment 
ago.  uNot  much  thinking  done  in  dandelion 
stems,  I  reckon,  Cyp,"  he  said,  as  he  pushed 
back  his  riding-cap,  freeing  his  thick  dark  hair. 

"I  say,  Uncle  Thorpe,  isn't  there?"  contest- 
ed Cyp;  and  Judge  Havisham  turned  from  his 
book. 

"Eh?  What  is  it?"  he  asked  absently. 
"Take  yourself  off,  as  I  told  you.  Ask  Wynt, 
there;  he's  first-rate  authority.  Argue  your  case 
before  him." 

Wynt  drew  Cyp  gently  away,  got  him  to  the 
opposite  corner  of  the  porch,  and  threw  him  into 
a  hammock  that  swung  under  a  curtain  of  vines. 

"I  say  it  did!  it  does!"  began  Cyp  again 
gleefully,  striking  a  defensive  attitude  as  well  as 
he  could  and  preparing  for  sport.  "  It  thought  it 
would  hold  on  tighter  the  harder  things  pulled. 
Isn't  that  a  good  way?" 

But  before  Wynt  could  answer  Bent's  full 
dignity  stood  in  the  door.  When  "  dinner  was 
ready"  was  the  moment  for  Bent  to  feel  that  he 
had  brought  the  fuH  importance  of  his  day  to  the 
front 


i6 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  DANDELION   LINK. 

BENT'S  eye,  trained  to  see  and  consider  every 
inch  of  his  territory  in  the  Havisham  House, 
caught  sight  of  his  door-knob  instantly,  first  with 
a  look  of  alarm  for  his  precious  brass,  and  then 
with  an  instant's  gleam  of  understanding  towards 
the  two  boys,  as  his  equally  quick  ear  caught 
Cyp's  words  and  the  ownership  of  chain  and 
basket  was  explained. 

But  the  gleam  vanished  and  Bent  was  sustain- 
ing the  dignity  of  the  moment  again. 

"Dinner  is  served,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Thorpe, 
Mr.  Wynt,  Mr.  Cyp,"  and  with  a  grave  bow  he 
was  withdrawing  as  noiselessly  as  he  came,  but 
Cyp  began  scrambling  out  of  his  net. 

"I  say,  Bent,  look  out  for  your  own  door- 
handle  when  you  go  home  to-night — Mab's  door- 
handle, I  mean.  Don't  forget  it  or  we'll  come 
to  grief." 

No  one  would  have  suspected  from  Bent's  face 
that  he  had  any  thought  beyond  the  service  he 
was  doing  as  he  gravely  passed  one  course  after 
another,  serving  each  faultlessly  and  forgetting 
no  possible  wish  or  want.  But  the  words  he  had 
caught  from  Cyp  seemed  to  echo  with  a  strangtf 


THE   DANDELION   LINK.  17 

persistency  in  his  mind,  and  a  good  many 
thoughts  followed  in  their  train. 

"'Hold  on  tighter  the  harder  things  pull!' 
That  wasn't  a  bad  thing  Mr.  Cyp  happened  to 
say."  And  then  would  follow  another  reflection 
as  his  eyes  rested  first  on  one  and  then  on  another 
of  the  group  he  served.  "I  hope  Mr.  Thorpe 
will  do  the  same  if  there  comes  any  working 
upon  him  before  long.  Miss  Vivian  will  be  sure 
to  be  coming  home,  with  the  weather  going  on 
like  this.  There  '11  be  some  fine  company  or 
other  she'll  want  to  show  the  old  place  to  in 
June.  And  I  didn't  like  the  way  the  wind  blew 
the  last  time  she  was  here.  Straws  showed  it! 
Straws  showed  it!"  And  so  on,  till  Bent  took  an 
unnecessary  turn  into  the  china-closet  to  shake 
himself  up.  Thoughts  that  must  be  kept  secret 
seemed  like  treason,  and  he  would  rather  re- 
serve them  for  a  time  when  he  need  not  mask  his 
face. 

The  meal  was  over  at  last — a  late  dinner 
always  at  the  Havisham  House,  as  the  judge  did 
not  like  his  day's  work  broken  in  upon  at  an  ear- 
lier hour — and  Cyp  left  the  table  in  haste. 

"  Where  now,  youngster?"  asked  his  uncle,  as 
he  went  flying  from  the  piazza  steps.  "Do  n't 
you  know  your  day  and  dinner  come  to  an  end  to- 
gether?" 

"Oh,  only  to Mab's  with  this,"  answered  Cyp, 
bringing  his  basket  into  sight;  and  his  uncle 

Jade*  B«Ttobun-«  Will.  2 


l8  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

turned  away  satisfied;  a  run  to  Mab's  and  back 
need  hardly  take  two  minutes?  time. 

The  Havisham  Place,  though  in  front  covered 
only  by  the  lawn,  at  the  foot  of  which  Cyp  had 
crossed  the  street  to  his  dandelion  bank,  in  the 
rear  sloped  gently  away  over  a  much  longer 
stretch.  The  carriage  drive  that  entered  at  the 
front  rounded  the  house  and  curved  down  the 
slope,  passing  a  pet  little  grove  with  its  fish-pond, 
and  emerging  on  a  narrow  street  that  crossed  the 
place  at  its  rear.  On  each  side  of  the  driveway, 
but  a  trifle  removed  from  it  and  really  fronting 
the  street,  stood  a  little  lodge  or  cottage,  simple 
but  tasteful,  and  graceful  with  flowers  and  vines. 
One  of  these  had  been  built  for  u  Nurse  Barbie," 
and  a  life  lease  of  it  had  been  given  her  when, 
after  fostering  every  child  in  the  family  for  more 
than  one  generation,  her  services  were  needed  no 
more.  The  other  should  properly  have  been 
Waite's,  but  as  he  had  uno  belongings,"  to  use 
his  own  expression,  Bent's  invalid  daughter  had 
been  installed  in  it  and  Bent  privileged  to  call  it 
home  as  far  as  his  duties  would  allow. 

Cyp  had  made  the  distance  often  in  a  minute's 
time,  but  he  was  slower  to-night,  with  the  safety 
of  chain  and  basket  to  consider.  They  were 
brought  all  right  to  the  door  at  last,  and  Cyp 
tested  his  work  again  with  noiseless  and  nervous 
hands.  Yes,  the  "  little  one  "  and  all  the  rest  were 
true  as  steel  once  more.  What  would  Mab  say ! 


THE   DANDELION    LINK.  19 

An  hour  later  Cyp's  day  was  done  indeed,  and 
Bent,  making  his  last  pilgrimage  about  the  house, 
saw  him  curled  up  against  the  sofa  cushion,  too 
sound  asleep  even  for  dreams. 

Bent  nodded  imperceptibly  to  himself.  There 
was  a  specimen,  now,  of  the  very  things  he  had 
talked  too  much  about  to  the  pantry  door  that 
afternoon.  What  did  two  men  know  about  taking 
care  of  a  child  like  that?  If  Miss  Vivian  were 
here  now  (as  she  might  be),  she  would  know  that 
a  bed  was  the  only  thing  for  him  at  this  time 
of  night  Or  if  even  Barbie  were  about  The 
Lord  had  chosen  to  take  Mrs.  Thorpe  to  himself 
— the  saddest  day  the  Havisham  House  had  ever 
seen — but  he  left  Miss  Vivian.  He  left  one,  in 
his  pity,  that  knew  well  how  to  make  a  home  if 
she  would. 

Bent  went  noiselessly  out  The  last  shade 
was  drawn,  the  last  gas  jet  regulated,  and  the  last 
key  turned,  so  far  as  they  came  under  his  care; 
there  were  a  few  little  matters  yet  to  delay  him  in 
the  dining-room,  and  then  he  would  be  off  to  Mab. 

Wynt  and  his  uncle  looked  comfortable 
enough,  certainly,  and  not  altogether  objects  of 
pity,  as  Bent  closed  the  door.  Wynt  was  buried 
in  a  book  that  apparently  delighted  him  and 
Judge  Havisham  was  as  evidently  ready  for  a  rest 
His  opinion  was  made  up  as  to  that  troublesome 
case  at  last.  There  was  no  hobgoblin  in  it  for 
him  any  more. 


2o  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

His  glance  fixed  itself  upon  Wynt  as,  with 
elbow  on  the  table,  his  finely  shaped  head  rested 
on  his  hand  and  his  dark  grave  face,  forgetful  of 
everything  near,  bent  over  his  book. 

"Wynt,"  he  exclaimed  suddenly,  "do  you 
know,  I  like  you  better  than  any  boy  I  ever 
knew !" 

Wynt  started  and  looked  up,  his  dark  eyes  be- 
wildered for  a  moment  with  the  suddenness  of  the 
recall,  and  then  in  another  instant  a  smile  and  a 
look  of  pleasure  answered,  though  the  quiet  of  his 
manner  still  remained.  "Do  you,  uncle?  I 
thought  better  of  your  judgment,  but  it  is  all  the 
luckier  for  me." 

"Now  don't  give  yourself  any  trouble  about 
my  judgment,  young  man.  I  've  seen  a  good  deal 
of  everything,  boys  included,  in  my  day;  Cyp, 
there,  is  all  right  in  his  way,  just  the  pet  for  the 
old  house;  a  good  deal  like  one  of  these  spring 
days — a  luxury  for  just  now  and  a  promise  of  bet- 
ter things  by-and-by.  But  I  tell  you  I  like  that 
quiet  way  of  yours  that  doesn't  stir  till  the  time 
comes,  but  is  ready  for  it  with  the  grip  of  a  lion 
when  it  does." 

Wynt  laughed.  ' '  The  grip  of  a  lion's  nephew, 
I  rather  think,  if  there's  any  grip  about  it  at 
all." 

"Not  a  bit  of  it  You  've  got  your  own  way, 
and  that's  half  the  reason  I  like  it,  good  as  it  is. 
It  was  one  of  the  best  days  the  old  house  ever 


THE  DANDELION   LINK.  21 

marked  when  you  and  Cyp  came  into  it.  I  gave 
up  Vivian  to  that  fine-enough  fellow  she  fancied, 
on  the  promise  I  should  be  richer  instead  of  poorer 
by  the  move.  They  would  make  their  home  to- 
gether in  the  old  nest,  they  said.  But  they  seem 
to  spread  wings  everywhere  else  instead,  and  I 
should  be  a  lonely  old  fellow  enough,  if  it  were 
not  for  you." 

"Do  you  think  Vivian  likes  it?"  asked  Wynt, 
his  face  impenetrably  quiet  again  and  his  eyes 
returning  to  his  book. 

His  uncle  started  and  looked  keenly  at  him 
with  a  quick  glance.  "  Vivian?  Do  I  think  she 
likes  what?" 

Wynt  hesitated,  and  then,  "Our  being  here," 
he  answered  gravely,  lifting  his  eyes  for  a  mo- 
ment to  his  uncle's  face. 

The  judge  half  rose  excitedly,  and  then  con- 
trolled himself  to  a  quietness  almost  equalling 
Wynt's.  "Why  shouldn't  she  like  it?  She 
never  knew  your  mother,  it  is  true.  Wyut,  your 
mother — the  only  sister  I  ever  had — was  the  pet 
of  my  whole  soul.  When  I  was  young  I  was  way 
ahead  of  her  in  years;  there  was  twice  the  dis- 
tance between  us  that  there  is  between  you  and 
Cyp;  but  I  cherished  her  all  the  more  for  that. 
She  was  the  golden  light  of  the  house  to  me,  and 
she  seldom  left  it  till  she  went  out  as  Vivian  did 
two  years  ago.  It  lost  her  then,  but  my  heart 
held  on  to  her  just  the  same.  I  always  dreamed 


22  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

and  dreamed  1  should  have  her  back  some  day; 
but  I  never  saw  her  again.  The  climate  where 
they  took  her  and  k«pt  her — the  climate  that 
gave  you  that  berry-colored  skin  of  yours — faded 
her  like  a  flower,  and  the  very  day  after  I  let 
Vivian  go  my  dream  vanished.  *  The  Lord  had 
led  her  feet  to  a  new  home,  fairer  than  our 
thoughts  could  conceive,'  the  letter  said.  I  hope 
so,  but  there  has  been  an  aching  void  in  the  old 
one  ever  since.  And  it's  not  for  us  to  judge  of 
the  Lord's  reasons,  but  I  never  thought  a  man 
had  a  right  to  keep  such  a  girl  in  a  heathenish 
climate  like  that!  What  was  a  little  money- 
making  to  her  comfort  and  life?" 

Dark  as  Wynt's  skin  might  be,  a  flush  crept 
quickly  up  under  it  and  his  eyes  shone.  The 
sound  of  his  mother's  name  always  brought  that; 
he  could  not  speak  it  at  all  himself  yet,  although 
two  years  had  gone  by;  but  his  father!  Why 
should  his  father's  faults  or  follies  be  brought  up 
against  him  now? 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  Wynt,"  said  the  judge 
suddenly.  "It's  all  past  and  gone  now  and  he 
is  gone  with  it;  one  month  from  the  first  news 
brought  the  second,  and  another  two  months 
brought  you  and  Cyp,  and  let  us  be  happy  to- 
gether. But  I  want  you  to  understand  about  all 
this.  I  want  you  to  know  how  much  you  and 
Cyp  are  to  me,  and  why  it  is  so.  And  I  want 
you  to  know  what  your  footing  is  in  this  house. 


THE  DANDELION  LINK.  23 

It  is  your  mother's  share  of  it;  and  whatever  hap- 
pens to  me — we  can't  tell  what  that  may  be  or 
how  soon  it  may  come,  remember,  young  as  I 
feel — I  want  you  to  know  that  whatever  I  might 
have  given  her  I  give  to  you.  There  is  no  beam 
or  rafter  in  the  old  house  that  she  should  not 
have  called  home,  and  as  long  as  you  and  Cyp 
want  it  here  it  is.  There,  that  is  the  end  of 
that.  Why  don't  you  take  that  young  rascal  off 
to  his  bed?  He'll  grow  old  before  his  time, 
hanging  about  here  at  such  hours." 

Wynt  rose  and  went  to  him.  "Cyp!'*  he 
said;  but  there  was  no  answer. 

"Cyp!" 

Not  a  quiver  in  the  long  eyelashes,  and  the 
hand  that  had  dropped  over  the  side  of  the  lounge 
hung  as  motionless  as  before. 

"That's  a  way  to  sleep,  now!"  said  the 
judge,  coming  towards  him.  "You  and  I  are 
past  that,  Wynt.  Here,  let  me  have  him." 

For  an  instant  he  stooped  over  him  with  a 
long,  slow  look.  Yes,  it  was  his  sister's  face 
again,  girl  as  she  had  been  and  boy  as  this  little 
fellow  was.  Then  he  lifted  him  quickly  and  was 
gone  with  him,  over  the  polished  stairs,  past  the 
square  landing  with  the  old  clock,  and  on  to  the 
hall  above. 

"  Here  he  is,  then,"  he  said,  as  he  passed  him 
over  to  Wynt.  "Take  care  of  him  now,  and 
bless  you,  boy!" 


24  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

He  turned  and  was  half  way  down  again  be- 
fore Wynt  could  answer,  but  Wynt's  pulses  were 
throbbing  with  all  that  he  had  said.  Half,  a 
quarter,  of  that  would  have  been  almost  more 
than  he  could  bear. 

He  clasped  Cyp  for  a  moment  with  a  quick, 
strong  pressure.  "I'll  hold  on  to  you  tighter 
the  harder  things  pull,"  he  said,  and  then  drop- 
ping him  gently  to  his  feet,  "Here,  youngster, 
it's  rough,  I  know,  but  you'll  have  to  wake  up 
now.'* 


HOLDING  ON.  25 

CHAPTER  III. 

HOLDING  ON. 

MEANTIME  Cyp's  basket,  hanging  for  Mab, 
had  nearly  come  to  grief.  The  owner  of  a 
heavier,  quicker  step  than  Bent's  had  approached 
the  door,  knocked,  and  in  response  to  Mab's 
"  Come  in,"  was  just  about  to  put  a  grip  on  the 
door-knob  that  would  have  left  little  of  violets  or 
chain,  when  through  the  twilight  the  visitor 
caught  sight  of  them  just  in  time.  Something 
was  there.  What  was  it  ?  The  new-comer  hesi- 
tated, gave  it  a  close  look,  and  then  detaching  it 
as  carefully  as  a  big  brawny  hand  could,  carried 
it  inside. 

Mab  knew  who  was  coming  and  her  face  was 
shining.  It  was  a  pretty  face,  even  when  quiet, 
with  its  soft  brown  eyes  and  patient  look,  but  it 
was  more  than  pretty  when  it  lighted  up  like 
that 

"Oh,  it's  you,  Jem.  Come  in.  I'm  so 
glad.  But  what's  that  you're  bringing  me? 
What 's  in  your  hand  ?" 

"It's  naught  of  my  bringing,"  answered 
Jem;  "except  as  I  was  near  bringing  it  to  an 
end.  If  it  had  once  felt  the  clamp  of  my  hand 
on  it,  that  would  have  been  its  last  It  was  wait- 
ing on  the  door-handle;  that's  all  I  know." 


a6  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"Oh,  it's  that  little  Cyp.  Violets!  Let  me 
have  them,  Jem,  please.  He  heard  me  saying 
how  I  longed  for  them,  and  that  I  could  n't  hunt 
for  them  as  I  used." 

Jem's  large  Saxon  face  did  not  look  pleased. 
He  pushed  back  his  cap  hesitatingly,  as  his  hands 
•were  free,  till  a  curl  or  two  of  tawny  hair  ap- 
peared, then  pulled  it  off  and  sat  down. 

"I  don't  know  why  you  mightn't  have  told 
me,  if  you  wanted  violets,"  he  said.  "I  suppose 
I  might  have  brought  them  to  you  as  well  as 
another,  if  you'd  said  the  word." 

"  But,  Jem,  it  was  only  a  happening  that  they 
were  spoken  of,  you  know." 

"I  don't  know  about  happenings;  I've  noth- 
ing to  do  with  them  that  I  know  of;  only,  Mab, 
there  seem  so  many  of  them  of  late.  I  begin  to 
think  you  don't  care  for  me  as  you  used." 

The  light  was  gone  out  of  Mab's  face  now, 
and  a  half-frightened,  half- wounded  look  took  its 
place.  "Jem  !  You  ought  n't  to  jest  with  me  like 
that.  The  very  sound  of  the  words  hurts  me, 
though  there  isn't  meaning  in  them,  of  course." 

"And  why  shouldn't  there  be  meaning  in 
them?  There's  been  meaning  enough  in  mine 
when  I  asked  you  more  than  once  if  you  meant 
to  marry  me  or  not.  I'm  tired  of  this  way  of 
going  on." 

Mab's  great  brown  eyes  fixed  on  him  as  if  they 
almost  uttered  a  cry.  "Tired  of  it?"  she  ex- 


HOLDING  ON.  2  7 

claimed.  "  You  are  tired  of  it !  Oh,  I  was  afraid 
it  would  come  to  that  at  last!  I  felt  a  deadly  fear 
of  it  in  my  heart  sometimes,  but  I  tried  to  drive  it 
away;  I  wouldn't  have  it  there." 

"Better  put  an  end  to  it  then.  If  you  care  for 
me,  there 's  one  proof  of  it  you  can  give." 

There  was  silence  a  moment,  and  Mab's  face, 
that  had  flushed  so  prettily  when  he  came  in, 
turned  deadly  pale  and  her  mouth  quivered. 

"Jem, "  she  said  at  last,  in  a  low,  quiet  tone, 
"  did  you  come  here  to  quarrel  with  me?" 

"No,  Mab,"  answered  Jem,  his  own  face 
flushing  this  time,  "I  want  no  quarrelling;  but  it 
does  begin  to  seem  as  if  you're  trifling  with  me, 
and  I  'm  not  a  man  to  like  that  If  you  care  for 
me,  why  don't  you  prove  it,  as  other  girls  do  to 
men  they  love?  I  know  you  're  not  strong,  but  I 
reckon  I  can  work  for  two." 

Mab  pressed  her  hand  to  her  heart  Jem's 
words  seemed  to  have  driven  a  pain  through  it 
like  a  stab.  If  she  cared  for  him  !  If  he  cared  for 
her,  how  could  he  understand  so  little  in  all  this 
time  of  what  the  Lord  had  laid  upon  her  to  bear? 
Jem  waited  in  silence  for  his  answer,  and 
seemed  determined  to  wait.  She  must  give  it  to 
him,  and  she  gathered  herself  up. 

"Jem,"  she  said  slowly,  bringing  all  her 
strength  to  bear,  "I  never  meant  to  trifle  with 
you,  but  perhaps  I've  done  it  without  k'lowinof 
it,  after  all.  What  kind  of  a  wife  should  I  make 


28  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

for  any  man  till  the  Lord  sends  some  help  to  lift 
me  up  from  where  I  am  ?  How  many  times  a  day 
do  you  think  I  am  out  of  this  chair  ?  Only  once 
or  twice  for  a  few  steps.  What  do  you  think  my 
hands  can  do  but  this  bit  of  lace-work  that  you 
see  me  at?  There  's  not  a  thing  done  in  this 
house  but  what  Barbie  comes  over  and  puts  her 
hand  to,  out  of  pure  love;  and  your  wife  must 
keep  your  home  for  you  and  keep  it  bright.  I  can 
bear  the  pain,  I  can,  though  it  seems  as  if  it 
would  eat  my  life  out  sometimes;  but  it's  the 
uselessness  that  is  bitterer  than  I  can  tell !  Still, 
I  've  hoped  and  hoped  the  L,ord  had  a  help  com- 
ing for  me,  as  I  said.  But  it  seems  no  nearer,  and 
perhaps  I  shall  have  to  see  that  he  means  to  keep 
me  as  I  am.  I  've  shut  my  eyes  against  it  so  far, 
for  your  sake  and  mine,  but  if  it 's  true,  Jem,  I 
don't  wonder  you're  tired,  I  wont  ask  you  to  wait 
any  more." 

Jem  twisted  his  cap  uncomfortably.  "But 
you  do  ask  me  all  the  same.  You  wont  put  an 
end  to  it,  at  least." 

A  quick  cry  half  escaped  Mab,  and  then  her 
woman's  soul  rose  up.  "I  ze////put  an  end  to  it, 
then,  Jem,"  she  said,  "for  I  believe  that  is  what 
you  are  trying  to  make  me  do.  To  your  part  of 
the  waiting,  I  mean.  My  part  may  be  many  a 
long  day  and  year  to  come  yet." 

There  was  a  step  on  the  gravel  of  the  carriage- 
drive  outside.  Bent  was  coming.  Jem  rose  hesi- 


HOLDING  ON.  29 

tatingly.     "We  can't  say  anything  more  now, 
Mab,"  he  said.     "But—" 

"No,  nor  anything  different,  Jem.  It's  said 
for  ever,  I  'm  afraid." 

In  another  moment  Jem  was  gone,  and  Bent 
had  come  in  in  his  place.  Jem  almost  stumbled 
over  him  as  he  stopped  at  the  door,  remembering 
Cyp's  charge  about  what  he  was  to  look  for 
there. 

"What,  are  you  going,  man?"  Bent  asked. 
"Mab's  been  looking  for  you,  and  it's  early 
yet" 

Jem  gave  some  indistinct  answer  and  pushed 
out  into  the  starlight,  crunching  over  the  few 
steps  of  driveway  between  the  house  and  the  nar- 
row street,  and  then  his  footsteps  came  rapidly 
back,  fainter  and  fainter,  and  then  lost  by  a  sud- 
den turn. 

"Why,  what's  taken  him  so  early?"  began 
Bent  "And  I  was  to  find  something  on  the 
door-knob  that  Mr.  Cyp — "  But  he  stopped  sud- 
denly as  he  looked  at  Mab.  Her  face  was  white 
and  her  brown  eyes  were  fixed  on  his  face  appeal- 
ingly,  while  Cyp's  violets,  their  chain  crushed  by 
Jem's  heavy  touch,  lay  in  her  lap  spilled  and  for- 
gotten. 

Bent  stood  silent  as  he  looked  from  her  to 
them  and  back  again.  "  She  looks  like  some  poor 
wounded  thing,"  he  said  to  himself  excitedly. 
"  Has  that  Jem— " 


30  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

But  he  might  as  well  have  spoken.  Mab  read 
his  thoughts. 

"No,  father,  Jem  never  meant  it.  He  has  a 
good  heart,  I'm  sure,  but  he  can't  understand. 
But  it's  harder  than  ever  to-night.  It  never  was 
so  bitter  before.  If  I  should  let  go  !" 

What  was  she  saying?  What  did  it  all  mean? 
He  Could  not  get  hold  of  it  yet.  "  If  you  were  to 
let  go  what,  Mab?" 

"Oh,  my  Lord's  dear  hand,  my  Lord's  dear 
hand!  You  don't  know,  you  can't  think,  for 
I  've  never  let  you  know,  what  it  is  to  me  to  be 
prisoner  here.  My  life's  young  yet,  father.  It's 
not  as  if  I  were  old." 

"  I  'd  sit  there  for  you,  daughter,  God  knows," 
said  Bent  with  a  little  moan. 

"Don't,"  pleaded  Mab;  "don't  say  such  a 
thing.  I  only  meant  that  sometimes  it  all  would 
go  over  me,  bitter  and  hard,  if  I  didn't  reach  up 
and  get  hold  of  my  Lord's  hand.  I  reach  up  for 
it,  and  I  seem  to  hold  it,  you  don't  know  how 
close  !  I  can  almost  lay  my  face  against  it,  and 
I  feel  as  strong  as  anybody  then,  and  as  contented 
and  as  rich.  It  seems  as  if  his  heart  was  right 
beside  it,  so  pitying  and  true,  and  they  both  were 
ready  to  heal  me,  if  it  was  only  the  thing  to  do. 
But  there's  once  in  a  while  a  cloud  comes  up, 
and  there  seems  such  a  dragging  to  make  me  let 
go,  to  make  me  think  he  isn't  there,  after  all,  or 
he  doesn't  care,  or  why  does  he  let  things  go  as 


HOLDING  ON.  31 

they  are?  It  kills  me  to  have  it  so  and  I  know- 
it's  a  cruel  lie;  but  it  comes  once  in  a  while,  and 
to-night  is  one  of  the  times.  It  never  was  so  bad 
as  to-night,  I  think. " 

Bent  looked  at  her  helplessly.  "It's  a  time 
when  she  needs  a  woman  by,"  he  said  to  him- 
self. If  her  mother  had  not  died  !  If  Barbie 
would  come  in  !  If  she  were  but  the  little  thing 
he  used  to  hold  when  she  wanted  comforting ! 
"Oh,  my  little  Mab  !"  he  cried,  holding  out  his 
hands  as  if  he  would  have  taken  her. 

Then  he  went  up  to  her  and  lifted  Cyp's  dan- 
delion chain.  Some  of  the  links  were  crushed 
and  broken,  and  some  were  loosened  here  and 
there,  but  not  one  had  given  way. 

"  There  'sonly  one  thing  we  can  do,  as  I  see, 
Mab,"  he  said.  "It's  as  Mr.  Cyp  said  about 
these  things  here  this  afternoon.  I  didn't  alto- 
gether take  what  he  was  saying,  but  it  was 
somehow  that  they  were  'holding  on  tighter 
the  harder  things  pulled.'  We  must  do  it, 
Mab.  The  Hand  is  there,  and  we  can't  let  go. 
It 's  all  gone  with  us  if  we  do." 

Mab' s  eyes  were  "holding"  him  now,  but  a 
sudden  new  light  was  gleaming  in  them.  "  Did 
he  say  that?  Did  little  Cyp  say  that?  Oh,  I 
wonder  if  it  was  a  message  for  me!  Oh,  I  will 
hold  on ;  I  will,  indeed !  It  is  the  Hand  that 
held  the  very  cross  for  us.  How  could  I  ever 
think  it  would  draw  away  from  me  !" 


32  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

When  Mab  was  asleep  that  night  Bent  stole 
in  and  looked  at  her.  There  was  a  quiet  peace 
in  her  face,  her  cheek  rested  upon  one  slender 
hand,  and  close  beside  it,  dropped  from  the 
pillow,  lay  a  cluster  of  Cyp's  violets,  blue  and 
sweet.  Bent  stood  still  a  moment,  then  turned 
and  went  as  softly  out  again. 

" Yes,  she'll  'hold  on,'"  he  said.  "It  was 
like  part  of  her  soul,  almost,  to  lose  Jem  out  of 
her  prisoned  little  life  ;  more  to  her  than  her  old 
father  can  ever  be  he  might  have  been  if  he 
would.  But  the  Hand  that  held  on  to  the  very 
cross  for  us  isn't  likely  to  miss  when  it  portions 
out.  And  he '11  never  let  her  go,  that 's  sure." 

But  as  he  sat  down  a  different  look  came  over 
his  face.  "What  kind  of  a  soul  could  a  man 
have  in  him  though,  lover  or  friend,  to  be  hard 
to  a  girl  like  Mab  !  She  tries  to  defend  him  and 
say  he  wasn't  hard,  but  I  am  afraid.  If  he  was, 
she's  better  without  him  than  with  him,  and  I 
hope  he  '11  never  cross  her  path  nor  mine." 


THE  POSTMAN'S  RING.  33 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  POSTMAN'S  RING. 

THE  "three-sided  table"  was  faultless  as 
ever  next  morning,  and  its  occupants  had  never 
seemed  gayer  or  in  better  mood. 

"Parlor  napping  hasn't  spoiled  those  eyes 
of  yours  yet,  Cyp,"  said  Judge  Havisham,  "but 
look  out  for  yourself  next  time  !  You  wont  get 
floated  up  stairs  at  my  expense  if  you  try  it  too 
often,  I  promise  you  in  advance.  Bent,  hand 
me —  Nevermind,  there's  the  postman's  ring; 
see  what  he  has  for  us  this  time,  first" 

Bent  went,  and  returning  laid  the  letters 
beside  "Mr.  Thorpe's"  plate.  As  he  did  so  he 
recognized  the  clear,  elegant  hand-writing  upon 
the  upper  one,  and  some  of  yesterday's  thoughts 
flashed  back  into  his  mind. 

"Ha  !"  exclaimed  the  judge,  as  he  broke  the 
seal  and  ran  his  eye  over  the  first  page,  "com- 
ing, is  she  ?  Going  to  take  pity  on  us,  and  see 
how  the  old  home  looks  in  June.  What  do  you 
say  to  that,  boys?  Vivian  !  Hardly  ten  weeks 
she  has  spent  in  the  house  in  the  two  years 
you've  been  in  it  Well,  we  wont  refuse  her. 
How  many  gay  folks  will  she  bring  in  her  train  ? 
I  wonder,"  as  he  read  on.  "Coming  alone,  is 


34  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

she?  Well,  the  rest  will  be  following  soon 
enough;  you  may  risk  that" 

He  put  the  letter  in  his  pocket  and  «opene4 
the  morning  paper,  but  that  did  not  seem  to 
engross  his  thoughts  as  usual,  in  spite  of  double- 
headed  columns  and  foreign  news.  His  eye  ran 
over  one  paragraph  after  another  disconnectedly, 
but  the  letter  seemed  to  stand  before  them  all. 
And  that  strange  question  Wynt  had  asked  last 
night— ^did  he  think  Vivian  liked  it?  What 
could  be  the  boy's  idea  ?  What  could  have  put 
such  a  thought  into  his  head  ?  To  tell  the  truth, 
though — and  the  judge  gave  his  paper  an  impa- 
tient shake,  turned  it  over  and  back  again — he 
could  remember  a  quick  suspicion  of  that  kind 
having  floated  into  his  mind  once  or  twice  when 
Vivian  was  last  at  home.  But  yet  how  could  it 
be?  How  should  it?  It  couldn't,  of  course, 
and  yet  there  were  trifles  that  might  be  inter- 
preted as  pointing  that  way.  Vivian  never 
seemed  to  look  upon  them  as  at  home ;  there  was 
always  some  remark  dropped  as  to  "  this  visit  of 
the  boys,"  or  the  time  when  u  the  boys  would  be 
away  at  school." 

And  why  had  she  not  kept  her  promise  and 
her  husband's  that  they  would  stay  by  him  in 
the  old  house  ?  Of  course  she  must  have  her  gay 
little  trips  away,  but,  on  one  pretext  or  another, 
there  had  been  nothing  else. 

"  You  can't  miss  me  much,  papa,"  she  would 


THE  POSTMAN'S  RING.  35 

say  in  her  graceful  way,  "while  these  little 
guests  of  yours  are  here;"  or,  "The  old  home 
wont  be  lonely  till  the  boys  are  fairly  launched. 
School-life  is  what  makes  men  of  them,  of  course, 
and  it 's  a  long  work.  You  '11  have  time  enough 
to  grow  tired  of  me  after  that. ' ' 

"As  if  I  wanted  to  send  them  away  to 
school!"  he  repeated  half  indignantly.  "There 
are  schools  enough  here,  except  for  a  four  years' 
college  course.  I  want  them  just  where  they  are. '  * 

But  was  it  possible  Vivian  did  not?  How 
could  they  in  any  way  interfere  with  her?  Ab- 
surd !  A  mere  notion  of  that  sensitive  Wynt's. 
High  notions  and  sensitive  ones  together;  there's 
where  he  was  like  his  mother  again.  He  hoped 
this  visit  of  Vivian's  would  bring  her  and  the  boys 
together  better.  They  needed  to  understand  each 
other,  that  was  all. 

He  walked  down  to  his  office  with  a  quicker 
step  than  usual,  and  found  work  ready  for  him,  as 
it  always  was:  clients  waiting  to  consult,  papers, 
claims,  knotty  questions,  pleas  to  prepare.  He 
met  every  one  with  the  frank,  interested  manner 
that  won  so  many  friends,  listened  courteously 
and  closely,  or  turned  to  his  desk  when  alone 
without  a  moment's  loss  of  time.  But,  in  spite  of 
it  all,  his  partner's  keen  eye  glanced  at  him  now 
and  then  as  he  wondered  what  there  was  out- 
side of  work  that  was  stirring  up  the  judge  to-day. 

Suddenly  the  judge's  revolving-chair  turned 


36^  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

round  and  he  faced  the  other  with  a  quick,  earnest 
look.  "Wilkie,"  he  exclaimed,  "I  want  you 
to  look  out  for  those  boys  of  mine  if  anything  hap- 
pens to  me.  They'll  have  to  have  a  guardian, 
and  you  are  the  man  I  want.  I  've  been  meaning 
to  ask  you,  ought  to  have  done  so  before,  for  I  've 
asked  you  already,  in  fact,  in  my  will — I  'd  rather 
trust  you  than  any  other  man.  Will  you  do  it  for 
me?" 

There  was  no  answer  for  a  moment,  and  then, 
"A  heavy  trust,  is  it,  judge?"  asked  Mr.  Wilkie 
with  a  quiet  dryness  in  his  tone. 

"  Yes;  two  such  boys  are  a  heavy  trust  for  any 
one;  but  as  for  money,  they've  very  little  of  that; 
I  can't  imagine  what  that  father  of  theirs  was 
doing  all  those  years.  However,  that  doesn't 
matter.  I  can  make  that  up  to  them,  and  have 
done  so.  Now  will  you  do  this  other  thing  for 
me?" 

"  I  never  refused  you  anything  yet,  Havisham, 
I  believe." 

"  All  right  then,  and  thank  you.  Now  here," 
rising  and  going  to  his  safe,  ' '  here  are  the  papers 
showing  the  little  the  youngsters  have;  it  was  all 
I  could  find  to  gather  up  for  them  east  or  west; 
and  here  is  my  will.  So  now  my  mind  is  settled, 
thanks  to  you,  and  I'll  go  and  get  my  lunch. 
I  '11  outlive  you  yet  ten  years,  I  dare  say;  I  never 
felt  better  in  my  life.  But  I  don't  like  a  thing 
like  that  hanging  at  loose  ends." 


THE  POSTMAN'S  RIXG.  37 

Meantime  there  had  come  a  tap  at  the  door 
where  Cyp's  basket  had  hung  the  night  before, 
and  a  tall,  stately  figure,  erect  as  a  forest  tree,  had 
come  in.  It  was  Barbie  with  Mab's  little  break- 
fast-tray in  her  hand.  Not  too  early,  for  she 
knew  Mab  would  not  like  that;  but  when  the 
right  moment  came  not  a  morning  had  ever 
known  her  fail,  or  the  tray  fail  to  bring  something 
dainty  and  hot,  since  Mab  moved  into  the  house. 

Mab  was  ready  for  her.  She  was  sure  to  have 
pulled  herself  over  to  her  chair  by  some  means,  by 
this  time;  but  something  in  her  face  caught  Bar- 
bie's notice,  and  she  stood  a  moment,  stately  and 
still,  against  the  door  while  her  great  brilliant 
eyes  fixed  themselves  on  Mab. 

Barbie  was  called  "old"  because  the  gene- 
rations she  had  nursed  in  the  Havisham  family 
were  grown  out  of  her  reach;  but  that  seemed  to 
be  all.  Her  pulse  was  as  quick  and  her  step  as 
elastic  and  firm  as  on  the  day  she  first  entered  the 
Havisham  House,  brought  from  a  West  Indian 
island,  with  just  tinge  enough  of  its  blood  to 
"give  her  a  right  to  her  head-handkerchief,"  as 
she  used  to  say  as  she  wound  it  about  her  head. 

There  was  a  dignity  in  the  folds  with  which 
that  "head-handkerchief,"  or  turban,  went  on 
that  made  the  Havisham  children  whisper  that 
Barbie  "had  a  queen's  blood  in  her  veins;"  but 
they  had  to  take  it  out  in  whispering;  they  could 
never  get  deeper  than  that 


38  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

She  went  slowly  over  to  the  table  now,  set  the 
tray  in  its  place,  and  seated  herself  on  a  low  chair 
before  Mab.  "You  might  just  as  well  tell  me, 
child,"  she  said  quietly,  her  eyes  still  fixed  upon 
Mab. 

Mab  gave  her  a  little  smile  that  she  thought 
would  cover  everything.  "The  pain  is  a  little 
sharp  to-day,  Barbie.  I  seemed  to  get  a  wrench, 
like,  last  night." 

"And  whom  did  you  get  it  from?"  asked 
Barbie,  without  changing  her  gaze. 

Mab  struggled  and  tried  to  resist  it,  but  in  an- 
other moment  her  arms  were  flung  around  Barbie 
and  a  sharp  little  cry  broke  out.  "  O  Bab  !  Bab  ! 
I  thought  I  should  always  have  had  Jem,  at  least. 
I  ought  to  have  known  better,  but  I  thought  I 
should  get  well  at  last.  Didn't  you  think  I 
would  get  well  at  last,  Barbie  dear?" 

Barbie's  lips  were  sealed.  What  did  it  all 
mean  ?  No,  she  did  not  feel  as  sure  as  she  would 
like  that  Mab  would  ever  be  well.  There  was 
many  a  long  year  of  sitting  in  that  chair  before 
her,  Barbie  feared.  But  had  Jem  turned  his  back 
on  her  for  that? 

"  A  day  never  seemed  long  to  me  when  I  was 
looking  for  him  in  at  night, ' '  Mab  went  on.  ' '  My 
life's  not  like  others',  and  he  was  so  much  to 
come  into  it,  you  know.  He  shall  not  stay  a 
day,  though,  not  a  day,  if  he  tires  of  it !"  and 
Mab' s  eyes  shone  suddenly.  "But  he  need  not 


THE  POSTMAN'S  RING.  39 

have  tired,  if  it  could  have  been  granted  me  to 
get  well." 

Barbie  felt  her  blood  glow  to  her  finger  ends 
for  a  moment  and  then  cool  again.  Had  Jem 
been  rough  to  Mab  when  he  saw  what  every  one 
else  had  seen  so  long?  No,  she  would  not  believe 
it  But  Mab's  blind  little  dream  was  over,  that 
was  plain. 

She  took  Mab's  slender  hands  from  round  her 
neck  and  held  them  in  her  own  dark,  tapering 
ones,  then  lifted  the  oval  chin  till  she  looked  into 
the  girl's  face.  u Mab,  child,  it's  a  hard  thing  to 
sit  as  a  captive,"  she  said;  "  it 's  a  hard  thing  for 
a  captive  to  see  the  day  grow  dark;  but  if  your 
own  Lord's  voice  says  through  the  darkness,  *  Sit 
as  a  captive,'  what  then?" 

"I'll  do  it,  Barbie!"  and  then,  as  a  quick 
light  sprang  into  the  face  Barbie  held,  "  Did  you 
hear  what  I  got  from  Cyp  yesterday,  and  what  he 
said  about  holding  on  tighter  the  harder  things 
pull?" 

Barbie  rose  and  stood  with  her  full  height 
erect  as  she  looked  slowly  down  at  Mab.  ' '  Did 
Mr.  Cyp  say  that?  A  child  like  that?  He 
couldn't  have  said  more  if  all  these  old  eyes  have 
lived  to  see  had  been  painted  for  him.  There 
have  been  strange  times  and  dark  times  in  the 
Havisham  House,  mixed  in  with  the  blessed 
ones,  as  the  years  have  passed,  and  just  that  very 
thing  is  all  that's  brought  us  through — yes,  hold- 


4o  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

ing  on  to  what  we  could  see  and  what  we 
couldn't  see,  lambie,  both  alike.  We  could  al- 
ways see  what  was  the  right,  and  we  couldn't 
always  see  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord  right 
there,  tender  and  true,  but  the  only  way  was  to 
hold  on  to  both  of  them  strong." 

Barbie  sat  down  by  Mab  and  stroked  her  hand 
gently.  "  Lambie,"  she  said,  "I  never  said  it  to 
any  soul  before,  but  it  was  the  not  holding  on,  it 
was  letting  go,  that  brought  some  of  the  heavi- 
est troubles  the  old  house  has  ever  seen.  That  '11 
never  happen  again,  thank  the  good  Lord,  while 
Mr.  Thorpe  lives;  but  it  sometimes  lies  mighty 
heavy  on  my  heart  what  may  come  after  that 

"But  you  just  hold  on  tight,  lambie.  The 
Lord's  hand's  there  just  the  same  the  darkest 
night,  and  just  longing  for  the  moment  to  spread 
sunshine  again.  As  to  holding  on  to  the  right, 
you'1  II  never  have  any  trouble  about  that,  but 
there 's  others  that  may — some  others  in  the  house 
that  may."  And  Barbie  shook  her  head  with  a 
troubled  look,  that  was  gone  again,  however,  al- 
most as  soon  as  it  came. 

Nothing  could  go  wrong  while  Mr.  Thorpe 
lived,  and  why  should  not  that  be  for  twenty  good 
years  to  come  ? 


VIVIAN.  41 


CHAPTER  V. 

VIVIAN. 

THERE  was  an  unusual  sense  of  stir  and  ex- 
citement in  the  Havisham  House  as  the  day  went 
on.  It  was  always  in  order,  always  ready  with 
whatever  comfort  or  luxury  a  visitor  could  ask; 
but  for  "  Miss  Vivian  "  no  one  seemed  to  feel  that 
his  or  her  department  was  quite  perfect  enough. 
Her  own  old  room,  that  she  had  used  since  a 
child,  looking  out  into  the  great  linden-tree,  must 
be  freshened  and  "made  up,"  as  Burnham,  the 
housekeeper,  said.  Bent  was  re-polishing  every- 
thing that  shone  before,  and  Waite  was  bringing 
in  great  bunches  from  his  flower  beds — a  mass  of 
doffodils  here,  and  hyacinths,  violets,  everything 
that  the  season  allowed,  finding  place  somewhere, 
until  fragrance  told  tales  at  every  turn. 

"Miss  Vivian  always  sure  to  bring  her  per- 
fumes with  her,  but  she  wont  need  'em  here," 
said  Barbie,  who  could  not  be  satisfied  till  she  had 
taken  one  look  over  the  house  herself.  Burnham 
was  all  very  well  in  her  way,  but  she  hadn't 
known  Miss  Vivian's  ways  and  fancies  ever  since 
she  was  born. 

"/shall  get  apple-blossoms,"  said  Cyp,  whirl- 
ing round  Wynt  in  a  wild  state.  u  I  know  she  '11 


42  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

like  'em  best.  She'll  find  a  pile  of  'em  in  her 
room.  I  say,  Wynt,  don't  you  call  it  awfully 
splendid  for  Cousin  Vivian  to  come  ?' ' 

Wynt  laid  down  his  book,  seized  Cyp  in  a  gy- 
ration, and  laid  him  "alongside"  on  the  sofa 
where  he  sat 

"I  say,  don't  you?"  repeated  Cyp,  as  Wynt 
only  looked  down  at  him  without  reply.  . 

Why  couldn't  he  answer?  Vivian  was  a 
bright,  beautiful  thing  to  have  about  and  always 
kind.  He  did  n'  t  know  what  made  him  feel  that 
he  wanted  to  keep  his  arm  round  Cyp,  somehow, 
ever  since  he  had  heard  the  news. 

But  Cyp  was  giving  his  sleeve  a  tug,  and  he 
became  conscious  that  his  uncle's  eye  was  wan- 
dering from  his  paper  with  little  glances,  as  if  he 
were  waiting  to  catch  what  he  would  say. 

"It  will  make  gay  times  for  us,  Cyp;  but 
don't  let  her  hear  you  say  'awfully'  too  many 
times,  not  if  you  take  my  advice.  And  as  for 
apple-blossoms,  why  don't  you  get  them,  then? 
Don't  you  know  she'll  be  here  in  half  an 
hour?" 

Cyp  was  off  like  a  rocket,  and  Wynt  took  up 
his  book;  but  he  felt,  rather  than  saw,  that  his 
uncle's  eye  turned  to.  him  once  or  twice  still. 

"Ohy  what  ought  I  to  have  said?"  he  thought 
"It  is  Vivian's  home;  it '3  not  purs.  It's  she 
who  is  to  find  us  here,  and  not  for  two  little  inter- 
lopers like  us  to  receive  her.  And  I  hope  she 


VIVIAN.  43 

wont  mind  it  much  that  she  does  find  us,  for 
Cyp's  sake.  For  my  part,  I  'd  quite  as  lieve  not 
be  found,  if  the  truth  were  told.  I  hate  being  in 
any  one's  house  who  has  never  said  I  was  wel- 
come. I'd  willingly  slip  off.  Only  for  that 
reason  though.  It  is  fascinating  to  have  her 
here." 

Bent's  almost  noiseless  step  was  at  the  door 
then.  "If  you  please,  Mr.  Thorpe,  the  carriage 
is  ready  to  meet  Mrs.  Adriance  at  the  train. 
Shall  Waite  drive  you?  he  would  like  to  know." 

"Let  me  drive!"  exclaimed  Wynt,  springing 
up  eagerly.  "I'd  like  to  bring  Cousin  Vivian 
home." 

"Come  along  then,"  said  his  uncle,  with  a 
pleased  look.  "It's  time  we  were  off."  And 
in  another  moment  the  horses  were  curvetting 
out  of  the  yard. 

Any  young  fellow  might  have  been  proud  to 
"bring  Vivian  home,"  and  more  than  one  of 
Wynt's  mates  envied  him  as  the  carriage,  with 
its  party  complete,  whirled  from  the  train. 

"There's  been  beauty  enough,  dear  knows, 
in  the  old  house,"  Barbie  used  to  say,  "but  this 
child  got  almost  too  much.  It  seems  they  all 
'queathed  her  what  they  'd  done  with  when  they 
laid  it  down.  But  they  all  together  hadn't  that 
graciousness  like  a  princess  that  sweeps  every  one 
away.  We  all  think  we  're  getting  a  favor  when 
we're  doing  one  for  her;  and  as  for  the  judge,  I 


44  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

hope  she  '11  never  ask  him  anything  he  ought  not 
to  give." 

But  neither  asking  nor  granting  favors  seemed 
to  be  in  any  one's  mind  just  now  as  Vivian  leaned 
gracefully  towards  Wynt.  uWhat  a  man  you 
are  grown  to  be,  Wynt!"  she  said.  "Papa,  do 
you  remember  how  you  used  to  caution  me 
against  '  naughty  pride '  ?  What  do  you  expect 
when  you  sweep  me  into  town  with  such  a  young 
cousin  as  this  handling  the  reins?  You'll  have 
to  find  some  way  of  taking  me  down  afterward. 
And  where  is  that  charming  little  Cyp?  Ah,  I 
see!'  You  did  not  mean  to  let  me  have  every- 
thing, after  all." 

uOh,  he's  occupied.  Some  mischief  in  your 
room,  I  think.  He 's  not  the  scrap  of  a  youngster 
you  left,  Vivian.  He 's  chasing  hard  after  Wynt. 
You  '11  have  two  full-grown  young  men  here  to 
walk  out  with  you  before  long.  But  where 's 
that  husband  of  yours?" 

"Oh,  not  very  far  behind.  He  will  follow 
on,  certainly;  I'll  not  be  cruel  to  him  very  long. 
But  what  do  you  think  I  had  the  hardihood  to 
tell  him,  papa  dear?  That  comes  of  all  your 
early  instructions  about  not  concealing  the  truth. 
I  told  him  I  wanted  you  all  to  myself  for  Ifcittle 
while!"  And  she  laid  her  hand  with  a  half-play- 
ful, half-caressing  gesture  upon  the  judge's  arm. 
"All  to  myself!  Do  you  think,  papa,  you  can 
give  me  some  of  those  dear  old  walks  and  talks 


VIVIAN.  45 

we  used  to  have?  just  we  two?    I  miss  them  so. 
It  will  make  me  fancy  myself  a  girl  again." 

A  strange  mingled  expression  came  into  Judge 
Havisham's  face.  "Miss  them?"  How  he  had 
missed  them!  But  were  the  boys — 

But  before  he  had  time  to  answer  Vivian  had 
turned  to  Wynt  with  her  charming  grace.  "And 
you  too,  Wynt!  You  will  take  me  out  some- 
times, will  you  not?  How  proud  I  shall  be. 
And  Cyp—  Oh,  there  the  little  fellow  is.  What 
a  little  prince!"  as  a  face,  very  much  mixed  up 
in  a  bough  of  apple-blossoms,  peeped  anxiously 
from  a  window  at  the  sound  of  the  wheels.  He 
was  overtaken  in  his  work.  If  he  had  but  one 
half-minute  more! 

He  hurried  on,  his  fingers  trembling  with 
haste,  but  there  was  time  enough.  Vivian  had 
her  greetings  to  give  every  one  and  everything 
as  she  came  in. 

"  Ah,  the  dear  old  home!  Lovelier  than  ever, 
papa!" 

And  then  there  was  Bent,  and  Burnham,  and 
even  Barbie  was  in  the  background.  Miss 
Vivian  never  had  entered  the  old  house  yet  that 
she  had  not  stood  by  with  her  respects.  And  by 
that  time  Cyp  was  flying  down. 

Wynt  smiled  quietly  to  himself  as  Vivian  put 
her  arm  round  the  boy  and  drew  him,  for  a  mo- 
ment, to  her  side.  He  could  almost  see  Cyp's 
heart  stand  still. 


46  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"Ah,  old  fellow,"  he  thought,  "I  believe 
everybody's  right  and  you've  got  to  be  an  artist 
by-and-by;  you  do  think  such  a  heap  of  good 
looks  in  people  or  things.  If  she  were  as  homely 
as  Burnham,  now!  Well,  I  like  to  look  at  her 
as  well  as  you  do;  but  I  shall  take  mighty  good 
care  to  keep  you  out  of  the  way  whenever  uncle 
is  in  the  house.  You  can  do  your  admiring  when 
there  is  no  one  else  about."  And  he  kept  to  his 
word. 

There  was  less  company  than  usual  at  the 
house  the  next  few  days.  "  You  know  I  'm  just 
here  for  a  quiet  visit,  papa,"  Vivian  said  once  or 
twice  in  an  incidental  way;  and  there  were  only 
a  few  callers  and  one  unceremonious  dinner  for 
some  gentlemen  of  the  bar.  At  these  times  Wynt 
gave  up  watching;  Cyp  might  be  on  the  piazza, 
on  the  lawn,  in  the  library,  or  wherever  else  it 
was  proper  for  him  to  appear;  but  at  others  there 
was  a  most  unusual  number  of  engrossing  plans — 
an  excursion  or  a  long  walk  or  a  lesson  in  riding 
Blackwing,  and  for  the  evening  a  book  with  such 
an  exciting  point  in  it  somewhere  that  Cyp  got 
lost  in  the  dining-room  corner  where  he  always 
huddled  up  to  read.  For  a  few  days  this  would 
not  be  noticed,  Wynt  thought,  but  he  was  not 
sure  how  long  it  would  work. 

"You  youngsters  are  mightily  occupied,"  his 
uncle  said  at  last,  with  one  of  those  sudden  swift 
glances  that  were  his  way  when  a  thing  began  to 


VIVIAN.  47 

flash  upon  him ;  but  he  was  almost  as  much  occu- 
pied himself.  These  "walks  and  talks"  of  Viv- 
ian's absorbed  most  of  his  free  time,  and  he  al- 
most gave  himself  up  to  the  fancy  that  old  days 
had  returned  again. 

Bent  saw  everything,  as  an  old  servant  will 
and  must,  whether  he  wishes  it  or  not. 

"Forty  years  of  caring  for  the  people  in  a 
house  makes  you  know  them  pretty  well,"  he 
said  to  Barbie,  as  he  found  her  with  Mab  one 
night;  "and  Mr.  Thorpe's  step  hasn't  been  so 
light  and  quick  for  many  a  day;  not  since  those 
wedding  bells  rang  that  lost  us  Miss  Vivian  out 
of  the  house." 

"Wont  she  stay  this  time,  don't  you  think?" 
asked  Mab  with  a  sort  of  pleading  in  her  brown 
eyes.  "She  wont  have  the  heart  to  go  away 
again  after  this,  father,  should  you  say?" 

Bent  only  shook  his  head.  He  would  not  say 
so,  certainly,  to  Mab;  but  there  were  a  great 
many  things  he  did  not  say  to  her.  "Many  a 
secret  of  the  Havisham  House  conies  to  old  Bent, 
willy-nilly,"  he  used  to  say,  "but  it  comes  to 
stay.  It  walks  in  without  knocking,  but  it  finds 
the  door  locked  when  it  wants  to  get  out" 

Miss  Vivian  would  go,  he  was  sure,  when  she 
had  stayed  long  enough  for  her  purpose,  whatever 
that  might  be.  Bent  had  never  known  her  do 
anything  without  a  purpose  yet,  or  fail  to  carry 
one  out  when  once  taken  up.  As  for  "having 


45  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

the  heart,"  did  not  even  Mab,  who  believed 
every  one  to  be  as  good  as  herself,  know  that 
"heart"  did  not  seem  to  come  very  often  into 
Miss  Vivian's  plans? 

However,  so  long  as  Mr.  Thorpe  was  enjoying 
so  much,  Bent  was  happy.  Troubles  might  as 
well  lie  by,  if  there  were  any,  for  a  few  days. 


49 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  GRIND  AT  THE  MILL. 

DOWN  in  tb«  heart  of  the  town  ran  a  broad 
street  in  which  the  principal  business  of  Edin- 
burgh Heights  was  done.  Not  an  attractive 
street  altogether,  though  some  rather  fine  build- 
ings with  handsome  fronts  had  grown  up  among 
the  older  and  dingier  ones.  One  of  these  gave  up 
its  second  floor  to  the  law  office  of  Havisham  and 
Wilkie,  while  the  first  floor  was  taken  by  the 
warehouse  of  Brainerd  and  Gray.  This  was  a 
handsome  establishment  with  a  general  air  of  get- 
ting a  little  in  advance  of  style  in  the  Heights. 
Its  rooms  were  separated  only  by  pillars  and 
arches,  its  windows  made  a  fine  display,  and 
there  seemed  always  a  good  deal  going  on  inside; 
enough,  certainly,  to  keep  a  well-satisfied,  rather 
important  look  among  the  salesmen  moving 
about. 

Wynt  was  passing  it  one  afternoon  with  rather 
an  abstracted  look.  His  uncle  had  called  Cyp  to 
"pile  in,"  as  he  and  Vivian  drove  out  of  the 
yard,  and  had  whirled  him  off  between  them, 
leaving  Wynt  berating  himself  that  he  had  not 
taken  more  care.  He  knew  the  carriage  was  or- 
dered for  that  drive.  Why  couldn't  he  have 
kept  Cyp  out  of  the  way  ? 

Jv'.tt  IUT!ih»m'i  Will.  1 


50  JUDGE  HAVISHAL: '^  WILL. 

"  However,  perhaps  I  'm  wrong.  He  may  not 
be  a  nuisance  for  once  in  a  way.  Vivian  gave 
him  a  smile,  at  least,  that  set  him  up  sky-high, 
and  it 's  no  use  worrying  anyway.  Oh,  it 's  you, 
eh?"  as  he  heard  his  name  called  and  was  over- 
taken by  Lee  Brainerd,  who  had  just  come  out  of 
the  store. 

"I  suppose  so,"  answered  Lee,  "but  I  don't 
feel  quite  sure.  I  do  n't  believe  you  'd  know  who 
you  were  yourself,  if  you  got  shut  up  in  that  old 
mill." 

"Aren't  you  liking  it  any  better,  then?  I 
thought  you  'd  concluded  to  be  a  business  man 
with  a  will." 

Lee  gave  a  suppressed  little  exclamation  that 
seemed  to  convey  a  good  deal.  "'Concluding' 
means  finding  that  you  can't  help  yourself  some- 
times, as  I  suppose  you  have  found  out.  You 
know  it  was  a  heavy  grind  on  me  always  to  work 
at  anything  but  books.  I  would  have  worked  at 
those  if  they  'd  let  me.  But  there  was  no  chance. 
I  'm  to  have  an  interest  in  the  old  prison  at  twen- 
ty-one, and  be  full  partner  at  twenty-five,  and  I 
thought  I  could  fight  through  till  that  time  if  I 
took  the  bit  square  in  my  teeth.  But  the  more  I 
see  of  it  the  more  I  find  it 's  all  the  same  thing. 
Partner  or  youngest  clerk,  it 's  grind,  grind,  at 
the  same  old  wheel." 

u  I  thought  partners  lived  in  office  easy- 
chairs,"  answered  Wynt  laughingly,  really  trou- 


A  GRIND  AT  THE   MILL.  5! 

bled  at   the  cloud  upon  Lee's  face;   but  Lee's 
tones  were  even  more  bitter  as  he  replied, 

"And  what  then?  You're  simply  writing 
down  how  many  easy-chairs  and  rugs  you  have 
sold  to  somebody  else.  Bah!  I  tell  you,  Wynt, 
twenty-one  years  old  will  never  see  me  there. 
I'll  be  driven  out  if  I  can't  get  out  any  other 
way.  I  always  have  meant  to  behave  myself, 
but  I  believe  I  '11  give  it  up.  If  people  wont  let 
you  live,  anyway,  you  may  as  well — '' 

"Look  here!"  interrupted  Wyiit,  passing  his 
arm  through  Lee's,  "what's  the  use  of  talking  a 
lot  of  stuff  that  you  don't  mean?  A  man  that's 
a  man  can  '  live '  if  they  put  him  down  in  a  coal 
mine,  I  suppose,  and  you  and  I  want  to  be  men 
together  by-and-by,  you  know.  I'm  sorry  it 
goes  so  hard  just  now,  but  I'll  tell  you  a  thing 
Cyp  got  off  the  other  day.  He  says,  '  Hold  on 
tighter  the  harder  things  pull.'  " 

The  frown  between  Lee's  brows  seemed  to 
loosen  a  little.  "Cyp?  What  does  a  young 
rascal  like  him  know  about  holding  on  ?  He 's 
got  nothing  to  do  with  it  yet" 

"Not  much,  but  his  day '11  come.  He  just 
made  a  hit,  that's  all.  Not  a  very  bad  one 
either,  eh?" 

Lee's  brow  contracted  again.  ' '  Do  n' t  preach, 
Wynt.  It 's  easy  work,  but  lazy  as  I  am,  I  don't 
like  it.  I  should  like  to  see  you  try  what  'pull- 
ing' means  at  a  place  like  Brainerd  and  Gray's." 


52  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"Perhaps  you  will  some  day,"  answered 
Wynt  so  quietly  that  Lee  looked  suddenly  into 
his  face;  but  he  could  not  read  it  and  they  walked 
on. 

"Come  up  to  the  house,"  Wynt  said  pres- 
ently; "  take  a  canter  with  Black  wing,  and  he  '11 
toss  the  blues  out  of  you  and  bring  you  back  all 
right" 

"No,  thank  you.  It's  no  use  pretending  to 
be  some  one  else  for  half  an  hour  and  then  com- 
ing back  to  the  old  grind.  I  '11  stick  where  I  am. 
There  conies  Jem  Dent,  our  porter.  I  believe 
he's  found  life  isn't  worth  having  in  the  store 
as  well  as  I.  He  used  to  be  a  merry  sort  of  fel- 
low. What  do  you  suppose  is  making  him  look 
so  black ?  I  've  noticed  him  for  a  week." 

"  He  does  look  rather  down,"  said  Wynt  after 
they  passed;  Jem  had  only  given  a  quick  nod  to 
to  the  two  without  lifting  his  eyes.  "  You  can't 
very  well  call  him  black,  though,  with  that  yel- 
low hair  of  his.  I  wonder  what  it  is."  And  his 
thoughts  ran  across  to  Mab's  cottage  by  the  gate. 
No;  Mab  was  certainly  all  right  He  had  seen 
her  at  the  window  twice  within  a  week.  "  Come, 
Lee,"  he  repeated;  "come  up  to  the  house.  I 'm 
all  alone  there  for  an  hour." 

" No.  The  truth  is,  I'm  out  on  an  errand  for 
the  store.  I've  a  dozen  minds  to  forget  it,  though. 
Forgetfulness  is  a  good  quality  to  cultivate  if  you 
want  to  work  yourself  out  of  a  place." 


A  GRIND  AT  THE   MILL.  53 

Wynt  went  home  with  a  troubled  feeling  that 
he  could  not  shake  off,  though  he  tried  to  per- 
suade himself  that  it  was  unnecessary  after  all. 

"  He  can't  mean  it,"  he  said  to  himself.  "It 
must  be  just  a  mood  he  has  got  into  to-day,  when 
he  likes  to  hear  himself  talk.  I  do  n't  wonder  it 
does  seem  ( a  mill '  once  in  a  while,  but  he  knows 
as  well  as  I  do  that  '  holding  on '  does  make  a 
man  of  a  fellow  in  the  end.  He  's  all  right, 
though,  I  am  sure;  he  must  be.  But  I  don't 
like  that  look  he  had  to-day.  I  wish  they  would 
let  him  off,  but  I  suppose  they  can't  see  it.  He 's 
the  only  one  in  the  whole  family  who  does  not 
like  a  store,  and  very  likely  they  think  it's  a 
freak." 

He  turned  into  the  yard  abstractedly ;  he 
would  take  Blackwing  himself,  he  thought,  and 
he  had  nearly  reached  the  stable  door  before  he 
saw  that  the  carriage  had  returned  and  the  horses 
were  in  their  stalls  again. 

"  Waite,"  he  said,  "have  my  uncle  and  Mrs. 
Adrian ce  come  in  so  soon?" 

1 '  Yes,  sir.  Mrs.  Adriance  changed  her  mind 
and  did  not  care  to  go  far  to-day." 

Wynt  bit  his  lips.  Had  Cyp  spoiled  the 
drive  ?  He  must  see  where  he  was  now,  at  least, 
and  he  went  quickly  into  the  house. 

There  was  no  one  in  the  library;  could  they 
be  in  the  drawing-room?  No;  and  he  stepped 
towards  a  door  leading  from  that  room  to  the 


54  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

piazza.  The  door  opened  close  upon  a  sheltered 
nook,  screened  from  the  rest  of  the  piazza  by 
vines,  and  voices  from  behind  the  screen  fell 
upon  his  ear.  His  uncle's  sounded  earnest  and 
almost  excited,  while  Vivian's  answered  in  those 
same  smooth,  daintily  modulated  tones  that  were 
part  of  her  fascination  at  all  times. 

"I  say,  as  I've  said  before,  I  do  not  agree 
with  you,  Vivian.  Why  do  you  worry  me  about 
it?" 

"  Dear  papa,  if  there  is  any  subject  that 
worries  you,  let  us  never  mention  it  again.  But 
think  what  Rugby  has  done  for  English  boys. 
You  surely  feel  that  there  is  no  such  soil  as  school 
life  to  make  a  thorough,  manly — " 

Wynt  had  turned  and  was  half  across  the 
drawing-room  again,  on  his  escape,  before  he 
could  leave  the  rest  of  the  sentence  behind. 
Through  the  library  and  the  dining-room  door  he 
passed. 

Yes,  there  was  Cyp  in  his  old  corner,  and  deep 
in  that  book  again  ! 

Wynt  went  over  to  him,  got  him  out  with  a 
quick  little  lift,  and  sat  down  with  him  in  his 
arms.  "So  that  is  the  way  you  go  driving,  is  it, 
young  man?" 

Cyp  laughed;  but  something  in  Wynt's  face 
caught  his  notice,  and  he  put  his  hand  quickly  up 
against  it.  "  Your  face  is  hot  as  fire  !  What 's 
the  matter  with  it?"  he  said. 


A   GRIND   AT   THE   MILL.  55 

Wynt  took  his  hand  down  and  held  it  quietly. 
"Tell  me  where  you  went,  Cyp." 

"Oh,  only  out  to  the  Giant's  Fall.  Vivian 
was  tired,  she  said.  I  say,  though,  Wynt,  isn't 
she  fine !  She  had  her  arm  round  me  all  the 
way." 


56  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  JUDGE'S  PROMISE. 

THE  conversation  Wynt  had  so  hurriedly  left 
was  turned,  almost  instantly  afterwards,  by 
Vivian's  skilful  tact.  There  was  only  one  more 
velvety  sentence  that  might  drop  an  additional 
weight,  and  she  glided  off  into  a  running  series 
of  sketches  of  her  last  two  months  among  the 
Alps. 

"  And  if  I  come  home  in  the  fall  to  stay,  dear 
papa,  as  it  will  be  so  lovely  to  do,  there  will  be 
a  good  many  friends,  you  know,  at  different 
times,  and  do  you  really  think  so  much  petting 
and  distraction  is  good  for  boys  ?  They  are  such 
dear  fellows.  Every  one  would  have  to  notice 
them,  you  know." 

That  evening  Bent  served  the  dinner  with  the 
feeling  that  a  shadow  had  fallen  somewhere, 
wherever  that  might  be.  Vivian  and  Cyp  were 
in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  with  a  merry  banter 
going  on  between  them  that  kept  Cyp  in  sup- 
pressed but  continual  glee.  Wynt  was  silent 
much  of  the  time,  but  that  was  too  much  his 
way  to  notice.  It  was  Mr.  Thorpe  who  did  not 
seem  like  himself. 

The  old   butler  ventured  one  or  two  quiet 


THE  JUDGE'S  PROMISE.  57 

glances  into  his  face,  but  he  hardly  needed  even 
those;  it  was  "  in  the  air." 

He  stole  one  at  Vivian  as  she  sat,  looking 
never  handsomer,  in  her  graceful  evening  dress, 
her  color  fresh  and  her  eyes  sparkling  at  Cyp. 
Her  "fatigue"  of  the  afternoon  seemed  to  have 
vanished  away. 

"She's  done  it  though,"  said  Bent  silently 
to  himself.  "She's  laid  a  touch  somewhere 
that 's  just  clouded  in  the  special  bright  time 
she  'd  been  making  Mr.  Thorpe  for  a  week.  I 
said  she  had  a  plan.  I  said  she  never  came 
home  this  quiet  way  without  one,  and  she 's  been 
feeling  its  way  along  till  she 's  touched  a  tender 
spot.  I  know  !  I  have  n't  kissed  her  in  her 
babyhood,  and  carried  her  in  my  arms  many 
a  day  after,  and  watched  her  every  day  since, 
without  knowing  her  as  well  as  I  love  her, 
and  I  love  her  well.  But  she  never  wanted 
anything  yet  that  she  didn't  get  it,  in  all  those 
years." 

Another  week  passed,  and  Bent's  reflections 
only  deepened  and  strengthened.  The  week 
following  was  to  bring  Mr.  Adriance  and  a  gay 
troop,  and  why  wasn't  "Mr.  Thorpe"  making 
the  most  of  this?  To  every  one's  eye  but  Bent's, 
and  perhaps  to  Wynt's,  he  was  doing  so ;  but 
even  \Vynt  felt  that  there  was  a  pressure  some- 
where— something  troubled  his  uncle.  Some- 
thing was  certainly  weighing,  that  had  shaded 


58  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

off  that  light-hearted  delight  of  Vivian's   first 
week  at  home. 

"  Yes;  I  could  n't  keep  Tom  off  any  longer," 
Vivian  was  saying,  with  her  well-bred  little  half- 
laugh.  "He'll  be  sweeping  in  the  moment  my 
two  weeks  are  up,  and  bringing  a  few  friends, 
dear  papa.  You  are  always  so  kind;  I  don't 
feel  the  least  hesitation  in  taxing  hospitality 
here." 

And  as  the  day  approached  Bent  found  him- 
self wishing  it  would  make  haste.  u  I  'd  rather 
see  Mr.  Thorpe  whirled  out  of  his  quiet  and 
peace,  as  he  will  be,  than  to  see  that  look  he 
don't  mean  any  one  to  see  getting  stronger  and 
deeper  in  his  face.  And  I'd  rather  the  house 
had  been  left  in  its  loneliness  a  hundred  times. 
Well,  whatever  it  is,  I  hope  he'll  forget  it  when 
Miss  Vivian  and  her  troop  are  gone.  I  never 
knew  trouble  seem  to  lie  long  on  the  threshold 
with  Mr.  Thorpe." 

The  next  day,  now,  was  to  bring  the  " troop," 
as  Bent  called  the  expected  visitors.  Burnham 
had  been  overflowing  with  importance,  and  room 
after  room  had  been  left  in  immaculate  "spick 
and  span"  by  her  hands,  till  even  Barbie  and 
Vivian  were  satisfied.  Bent  had  got  out  his  extra 
silver  and  table  linen,  and  even  his  extreme  ima- 
gination could  see  no  finishing  touch  wanting  in 
his  own  sphere  when  evening  came. 

So  if  the  judge  and  Miss  Vivian  would  only 


THE  JUDGE'S  PROMISE.  59 

coiae  in  from  the  walk  slie  had  asked  him  to 
take,  Bent  would  go  home  to  Mab.  Mab  needed 
all  the  heartening  she  could  get,  poor  child,  since 
Jem's  visits  had  dropped  off. 

He  grew  almost  impatient.  Miss  Vivian  was 
having  one  last  talk  with  Mr.  Thorpe,  he  was 
sure;  but  still  it  was  late  to  be  out,  in  the  damp- 
ness of  an  evening  like  this. 

Then  suddenly  he  was  glad  of  it,  after  all. 
There  was  the  gas  in  the  east  parlor.  Miss 
Vivian  always  liked  to  find  it  lighted  when  she 
came  in,  and  it  had  gone  "clean  out  of  mind" 
to-night. 

He  seized  his  torch  and  went  with  his  usual 
noiseless  step  into  the  forgotten  room.  The 
judge's  private  study  opened  from  it,  a  heavy 
Eastern  drapery,  that  Vivian  had  brought  him 
from  abroad,  curtaining  it  off.  As  he  passed  this 
he  started  as  a  low,  smoothly  modulated  voice 
fell  upon  his  ear. 

"And  so,  dear  papa,  wont  you  yield  to  my 
judgment  for  this  once?  Wont  you  promise  me 
this  one  thing  ?  You  surely  could  trust  me,  when 
I  know  your  wishes  so  well." 

Bent  turned  to  flee,  as  Wynt  had  done  a  few 
days  before,  but  he  could  not  get  out  of  hearing 
before  the  answer  came. 

"Very  well,  Vivian,  I  promise,  if  you  cannot 
be  happy  otherwise.  And  now  let  us  not  mention 
the  subject  again  while  you  stay.  Let  me  have 


60  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

your   visit   in.   peace.      When   you   are  gone   I 
will—" 

That  was  the  last  word  Bent  caught.  He  was 
safe  across  the  hall  and  in  his  dining-room,  with 
the  door  closed  fast  behind  him,  before  any  more 
could  have  been  spoken. 

He  got  his  hat  and  went  down  the  steps  of 
the  little  back  porch  leading  to  the  carriage 
drive.  He  could  not  go  to  Mab  yet;  she  would 
surely  see  trouble  in  his  face.  Where  could  he 
go? 

He  walked  back  and  forth  little  distances  on 
the  driveway  hurriedly,  and  then  got  under  the 
shadow  of  a  giant  old  willow  and  leaned  against 
the  trunk;  then  out  again,  and  over  to  the  rail- 
ing of  the  little  fish-pond,  farther  on. 

u  I  'm  sure  it  means  trouble,"  he  said  over  and 
over  to  himself  with  a  little  moan.  ' '  Not  that 
I  can  think,  or  would  think,  what  it  may  be,  but 
it's  there.  Mr.  Thorpe  never  refused  her  any- 
thing yet,  nor  can't;  but  he'd  never  have  kept 
her  pleading  if  he  hadn't  felt  there  was  trouble 
in  what  she  asked.  And  who  is  there  left  to  feel 
trouble  in  the  family  now  but  Mr.  Wynt  and  Mr. 
Cyp?  Yet  it  can't  be  he  would  let  even  her 
bring  anything  on  them  !" 

Bent  took  a  little  stone  that  lay  on  the  railing 
and  plashed  it  down  into  the  pond  below.  Then 
he  walked  over  to  the  old  willow  again  and  then 
restlessly  back  to  the  rail.  Somehow  he  did  not 


THE  JUDGE'S  PROMISE.  6 1 

feel  ready  for  Mab  yet.  Picture  after  picture  of 
past  days  in  the  old  house  rose  before  his  eyes — 
bright,  joyous  ones  among  them,  but  the  dark 
ones  seemed  to  stand  foremost  to-night. 

"  And  scarcely  ever  one  of  them,"  he  went  on, 
"scarcely  ever  one  of  them  need  have  come — ex- 
cept when  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  send  the  still 
messenger  in — if  some  one  had  n't  failed  of '  hold- 
ing on,'  as  Mr.  Cyp  might  say,  to  the  right  and 
the  true.  I  may  be  mistaken — I  know  I'm  a 
foolish  old  man — but  it  weighs  on  me  that  Mr. 
Thorpe  has  let  go  something  to-night.  I'm 
afraid  he  hasn't  been  \holding  on  tighter  the 
harder  things  pull.'  But  no,"  and  he  brought 
himself  up  with  an  indignant  little  shake;  "it 
would  be  the  first  time  in  his  life  you  ever  knew 
it  of  him,  would  n't  it  ?  You  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  yourself,  Bent!" 

He  gave  his  hat  a  determined  little  push  back- 
ward, till  a  stray  lock  or  two  of  his  fine  silver  hair 
made  its  way  out.  There  had  been  enough  of 
this,  he  thought;  and  he  started  for  the  cottage 
with  a  quick  step. 

Mab  looked  up  with  a  bright  smile.  "You  're 
late,  father  dear,"  she  said.  "But  I  suppose 
you've  had  fine  doings  to  get  ready  for  at  the 
house. ' ' 

Bent  glanced  into  her  face  with  a  quick  look. 
There  was  a  clear  light  shining  in  it  that  he  could 
not  mistake.  "  S/ieJs  all  right!"  he  said  hastily 


62  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

to  himself.  "She's  not  one  there's  need  to  be 
worrying  about  any  more,  at  least.  She's  got 
her  Lord's  hand  again,  that 's  clear,  faster  and 
faster  every  day." 

"  Yes,  child,"  he  answered,  "fine  doings  and 
high  doings,  we  may  be  pretty  sure.  We  do  n't 
see  Mr.  Torn  Adriance  bring  a  company  into  a 
house  with  less.  But  we're  ready  for  them,  and 
they  can  be  young  but  once.  I  don't  forget  that. 
I  like  them  to  take  all  they  can." 

"Father,"  said  Mab  again  suddenly,  "who 
do  you  think  I  had  in  here  to-day?" 

Bent  looked  at  her  quickly.  Was  it  possible 
Jem — could  that  be  what  was  keeping  her  up? 
"  It 's  not  some  one  that  has  put  that  bright  look 
in  your  face,  eh?"  he  asked. 

Mab  blushed  crimson.  "No,  father,  no!" 
she  said  hastily.  "Not  if  you  mean  some  one 
who  wont  come  any  more.  If  I've  got  any 
bright  look,  it's  because  I'm  'holding  on'  bet- 
ter again.  What  a  queer  thing  that  was  for  Mr. 
Cyp  to  have  said !  We  '11  all  be  repeating  it  after 
him,  I  believe." 

"  I  don't  know  what  we  could  repeat  better. 
But  who  is  it  that  was  in  ?  You  have  n't  told  me 
yet." 

"  It  was  Miss  Vivian." 

"  Miss  Vivian  ?"  asked  Bent  hastily. 

"Yes;  why  not?" 

"Oh,  no  reason  at  all,"  he  answered,  covering 


THE  JUDGE'S  PROMISE.  63 

his  little  start  as  well  as  he  could.  "And  what 
did  she  have  to  say  ?' ' 

UI  can't  tell  you  more  than  I  ever  can.  I 
never  know  what  she  has  said  when  she's  gone, 
though  I  listen  while  she's  here  as  if  I  had  a 
spell.  She  brought  me  this  bit  of  a  soft  shawl  to 
throw  round  me;  see,  it 's  like  a  net."  And  Mab 
held  up  the  filmy  pink  thing.  "And  I  can  copy 
the  stitch  and  knit  more.  My  needles  are  just 
longing  for  something  new.  But  she  did  say  one 
thing,  father,  that  came  across  me  as  strange. 
She  spoke  of  Mr.  Wynt  and  Mr.  Cyp,  and  how 
fine  they  were,  and  that  Mr.  Thorpe  was  enjoying 
their  visit  here  so  much.  It  doesn't  concern  me, 
I  know,  but  I  always  took  the  idea  they  were 
made  at  home  in  Havisham  House." 

Bent  did  not  try  to  cover  his  start  this  time. 
He  sprang  up  and  looked  excitedly  at  Mab. 
"  Now  the  contrary  of  that  can't  be  said  by  any- 
body. They  are  at  home  in  the  house,  if  I  ever 
understood  Mr.  Thorpe's  meaning  about  anything 
yet,"  he  said. 


64  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

THORNS  IN  THE  PILI/5W. 

THE  "gay  doings"  Mab  had  talked  of  began 
in  good  earnest  the  next  day.  There  was  a  quiet 
elegance  about  it  all,  of  course,  for  Vivian  could 
not  do  a  thing  in  any  other  way;  but  a  merry, 
light-hearted  set  of  people  rode  and  walked  and 
chatted  and  filled  the  house  in  one  way  and 
another,  and  for  the  time  every  shadow  seemed 
to  vanish  away. 

If  anything  had  weighed  on  the  judge,  it  was, 
to  all  appearance,  thrown  aside  and  forgotten. 
He  was  the  handsome,  dignified  host,  but  good 
company  for  the  youngest,  for  all  that  And 
there  was  no  more  hiding  away  of  Cyp;  he  was 
called  here  and  there  by  every  one,  "  spoiled  alto- 
gether," Vivian  said,  shaking  a  jewelled  finger 
at  him  playfully;  and  Mr.  Adriance  had  taken  an 
extraordinary  liking  to  Wynt  and  wanted  him  in 
everything. 

4  'Really,  Tom,"  Vivian  laughed,  "for  a  but- 
terfly, time-wasting  fellow  like  you,  that  silent, 
dark  boy  is  a  strange  fancy,  it  seems  to  me.  If  I 
find  you  shaded  down  anywhere  at  the  end  of  the 
month,  I  shall  know  where  the  benefit  came  in." 

"  Do  n't  concern  yourself  about  me,  '  '  answered 


THORNS  IN  THE  PILLOW.  65 

Tom.  "The  boy  has  stuff  in  him  that  I  like. 
Wynt !  Where  are  you,  there  ?  I  want  you  to 
help  me  throw  my  new  trout-fly  over  at  the  fall. 
We'll  be  back  in  good  time  for  dinner,  if  we  can 
get  off  at  once." 

Judge  Havisham  stood  on  the  porch  and 
watched  them  off  with  more  satisfaction  than  he 
allowed  to  show  itself  in  his  face. 

"I  didn't  think  Tom  would  cotton  so  to 
Wynt,"  he  said  almost  elatedly  to  himself.  "I 
knew  every  one  would  like  the  youngsters,  both 
of  them;  I  was  safe  about  that.  But  I  should  have 
said  Cyp  was  the  one  Adriance  was  likely  to  pick 
up  like  this.  He  couldn't  please  me  better, 
though.  I  hope  they'll  be  more  like  brothers 
than  cousins  some  day." 

But  four  summer  weeks  do  not  take  long  for 
flight.  Almost  before  any  one  consented  to  say 
so  they  were  drawing  to  a  close,  and  plans  for 
the  next  move  must  be  made  and  spoken  of.  The 
guests  were  to  scatter  in  different  directions,  and 
Vivian  must  see  Norway.  That  had  been  left  out 
by  unlucky  circumstances  last  year,  and  there  was 
just  time  now. 

"  Only  a  summer  trip,  papa,"  she  said  gayly. 
"  You  '11  hardly  know  I  am  gone.  Autumn  will 
steal  a  march  on  us,  and  then — "  and  she  turned, 
as  she  had  a  way  of  doing  when  almost  out  of  a 
room,  putting  her  face  back  again,  full  of  smiles — 
"then,  papa,  if  you  tempt  me  very  much,  who 

J«d<«  tUrtilwm'i  Will. 


66  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILI,. 

knows  but  I  may  come  and  settle  down  upon  you 
for  ever  more !" 

There  was  no  "hardly  knowing,"  however, 
when  she  was  really  gone.  The  house  seemed 
empty  and  echoing,  and  Judge  Havisham  was 
glad  to  leave  it  and  get  away  down  town  to  his 
office  and  his  work. 

Bent  watched  him  quietly  when  he  came  back 
and  as  one  day  and  another  passed. 

"It's  no  use!"  he  said.  "Whatever  thorn 
Miss  Vivian  put  in  his  pillow  is  worrying  him 
again.  If  he  pushed  it  away  for  a  while,  it  is 
back  again,  sharper  than  ever,  if  my  old  eyes 
don't  mistake." 

Whether  they  did  or  not,  they  were  the  only 
ones  that  suspected  any  unpleasant  weight  upon 
Judge  Havisham' s  mind.  He  was  abstracted  and 
preoccupied  at  times,  it  was  true,  but  no  one 
could  be  otherwise  with  the  amount  of  work  he 
was  carrying  at  the  office,  and  of  late  not  unfre- 
quently  bringing  home.  This  "bringing  home " 
Wynt  noticed  instantly  as  something  entirely 
new,  and  too  much,  he  felt  sure.  His  uncle  had 
always  depended  upon  free  life  and  rest  when  he 
came  into  the  house. 

"Is  this  going  to  last  very  long?"  he  asked 
quietly  one  evening,  as  his  uncle  came  into  the 
library  with  a  package  of  papers  in  his  hand. 

"  Is  what  going  to  last?"  and  the  judge  looked 
quickly  at  Wynt,  whose  dark  eyelashes  had  hardly 


THORNS  IN  THE  PILLOW.  67 

lifted  while  asking  the  question,  as  he  sat  over 
his  own  book. 

Wynt  made  a  little  gesture  towards  the  papers. 
"You  always  teach  me  that  when  a  day's  work 
is  done  it  should  be  done,  and  a  man  should  be 
making  himself  over  for  the  next." 

Judge  Havisham  laughed.  "I  do  seem  to  be 
going  against  my  own  doctrine;  but  it's  good 
teaching,  for  all  that.  I  am  overworking  a  little 
just  now,  perhaps,  but  I  don't  see  any  way  out. 
It  wont  last  long  though,  and  I  'm  pretty  tough, 
you  know.  And  I  keep  out  of  the  study,  don't 
you  see?  I  do  it,  as  well  as  I  can,  out  here,  where 
you  young  rattlebrains  are.  That  keeps  me 
fresh." 

Wynt  had  noticed  it,  and  that  he  and  Cyp  were 
always  called  for,  since  Vivian  left,  if  out  of  the 
way  when  his  uncle  came  in.  Cyp  revelled  in  the 
fact,  and  the  evening  work  he  thought  best  of 
all. 

"I'm  not  hurried  off  up  stairs  after  dinner 
then,"  he  confided  to  Mab  as  he  stopped  under 
her  window  one  day.  "  I  'hang  around '  awfully 
late,  don't  you  know,  and  uncle  stops  every  now 
and  then  for  a  rest,  and  we  have  such  times! 
They 're  droll,  no  end." 

As  for  the  "  not  lasting  long,"  however,  there 
seemed  some  mistake  about  that,  and  the  impres- 
sion went  over  the  house,  and  even  out  to  the  cot- 
tages, that  "Mr.  Thorpe  "  was  carrying  too  much. 


68  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'  WILL. 

It  was  plain  enough  how  it  happened,  though; 
any  one  could  see  that.  One  of  the  prominent 
lawyers  in  town  had  retired,  and  there  were  two 
large  estates  to  be  settled  by  the  Havisham  firm, 
and  Mr.  Wilkie  was  ill. 

"  They  say  that  most  of  Mr.  Wilkie' s  practice 
comes  over  to  him,"  Bent  said  one  evening  to 
Barbie  and  Mab.  "And  they  say  Mr.  Wilkie 
wont  be  out  for  a  month;  and  how  it's  all  to  be 
doubled  with  Mr.  Thorpe's  share  passes  me  to 
see.  We  all  know  there's  not  a  lawyer  in  the 
county  with  the  clients  that  come  to  him." 

Barbie,  erect  and  turbaned,  fixed  her  great 
brilliant  eyes  upon  Bent  "Then  he  ought  to 
say  no,"  she  said  suddenly.  "We  don't  want  a 
bent  bow  breaking  in  the  old  house.  I  have  seen 
that  once,  and  enough." 

Bent  did  not  answer.  He  had  seen  it  with 
her,  and  "enough"  also,  when  the  judge's  father 
had  broken  down  in  middle  life  from  trying  to 
carry  his  own  affairs  and  a  scapegrace  brother's 
at  the  same  time.  That  was  one  of  the  bitterest 
times  the  old  house  had  ever  seen. 

"I  don't  get  sight  of  the  young  gentlemen 
once,  these  days,  to  half  a  dozen  times  in  the 
past,"  Barbie  said,  with  a  quick  change  of  the 
subject  in  hand. 

"No;  Mr.  Thorpe  keeps  them  with  him  every 
moment  when  he's  in  the  house,  since  Miss  Viv- 
ian left;  and  he's  not  had  a  horse  out  without 


THEN  HE  OUGHT  TO  SAY  NO."    Page  68. 


THORNS  IN  THE   PILLOW.  69 

one  or  both  of  them  any  more.  If  there 's  one 
thing  on  earth  he  takes  pleasure  in,  it 's  the  hav- 
ing them  about. ' ' 

Meanwhile  Wynt  had  found  his  thoughts 
turning  so  often  to  Lee  Brainerd  and  his  mood  of 
the  other  day  that,  in  spite  of  the  many  distrac- 
tions at  home,  he  had  looked  into  the  store  more 
than  once  in  business  hours,  hoping  to  satisfy 
himself  that  "  Lee  was  all  right." 

"He  never  could  have  meant  all  that  non- 
sense, of  course,"  he  repeated  to  himself.  "Lee's 
got  too  much  man  in  him  to  flunk  at  a  little 
'grind,'  as  he  calls  it  He's  just  where  he 
doesn't  like  to  be  just  now,  it's  true,  but  half 
the  fellows  in  college,  where  he  does  want  to 
be,  could  say  the  same  thing,  I  suppose." 

The  first  visit  did  not  give  him  much  satisfac- 
tion. Lee  was  busy  for  part  of  the  time,  and  for 
the  remainder,  though  cordial  and  friendly,  said 
what  little  he  did  say  in  a  half-sneering,  sarcastic 
•way  not  at  all  his  own. 

"If  you  wont  talk,  I  wish  you  were  busier," 
Wynt  laughed  at  last;  u  for  I  came  in  to  see  what 
you  really  do  here.  I  want  to  see  if  it 's  so  very 
bad." 

Lee  started  and  faced  about  "Look  here!" 
he  said,  with  a  little  sidewise  movement  of  his 
head  towards  a  distant  part  of  the  room,  "do  you 
see  that  fellow  over  there?  That 's  Warnock,  our 
managing  clerk,  and  what  I  have  to  do  is  prin- 


70  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

cipally  to  submit  to  him.     How  would  you  like 
to  be  under  a  man  like  that?" 

"  Could  tell  you  better  if  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  him,"  replied  Wynt,  determined  not  to 
be  put  down. 

"  It 's  a  loss !  Now  what  do  you  think  of  this  ? 
I  took  hold  of  a  country  customer  to-day  and  did 
my  best  on  him  for  an  hour;  got  him  just  worked 
up  to  where  he  was  ready  for  a  big  bill  of  goods, 
just  going  to  say  the  word,  when  in  slipped  War- 
nock,  bowing  and  smiling,  slid  me  off  to  one  side, 
picked  up  the  customer  where  he  was,  sold  him 
the  bill  I  had  worked  up,  and  quietly  sent  his 
own  check  into  the  office  with  it.  That  puts  it 
to  his  credit  as  salesman,  you  know,  and  leaves 
me  with  only  one  or  two  odd  pieces  of  work  to 
show  for  the  day." 

"That  was  pretty  bad.  Can't  you  get  even 
with  him  again?" 

Lee  gave  a  sarcastic  little  laugh.  "It's  the 
uneven  part  of  the  thing  that  goes  so  hard.  How- 
ever, I  can  get  beyond  them  all  if  I  can't  get  up 
with  them.  They  do  n't  want  any  poor  salesmen 
in  here  or  any  that  they  hear  tales  of  from  out- 
side. Do  you  understand  ?  I  can  take  things  by 
the  lazy  handle  through  the  day  and  find  more 
ways  of  making  up  for  it  in  the  evening  than  they 
like." 

"Lee,"  exclaimed  Wynt,  "what  are  you 
talking  about?  You  do  n't  mean  you  would — " 


THORNS  IN  THE  PILLOW.  71 

"Yes,  that's  exactly  what  I  mean.  It's  not 
so  very  bad  when  you  come  to  try  it  I  had  a 
gay  time  last  night  with  a  set  of  fellows  that  you 
would  never  know.  I've  got  a  horrid  headache 
for  it  this  morning,  it  is  true. ' ' 

Wynt  fixed  his  eyes  on  him  with  a  bewildered 
look.  Lee  must  be  "talking  to  hear  himself 
talk."  He  knew  him  through  and  through,  he 
thought.  ' '  Now  what  is  the  use  of  all  this  non- 
sense, Lee?  I  '11  come  in  again  when  you  're  'at 
yourself.'  Or  get  half  an  hour  off  and  come 
along  for  a  walk.  That  will  take  your  headache 
off." 

Lee  smiled  and  quietly  took  out  a  cigarette. 
"Will  you  smoke?"  he  asked. 

1 '  No,  and  I  wont  believe  you  will  either.  What 
do  you  mean  by  all  this  humbuggery,  Lee?" 

"I  mean  exactly  what  I  say.  I  detest  the 
store,  and  I  '11  get  out  of  it  if  I  can.  If  I  can't,  I 
don't  care  what  I  do;  that's  all." 

"Lee  Brainerd!  You  don't  seem  to  remem- 
ber that  I  know  you  pretty  well.  You  have  just 
as  high  notions  of  the  stuff  a  man  is  made  of  as  I 
have." 

Lee  smiled.  "  You  do  n't  think  having  a  gay 
time  makes  a  man  of  a  fellow?" 

"No,  I  don't;  nor  you  either;  not  the  kind  of 
gay  time  you  are  talking  about." 

"Well,  now,  I  tell  you  there  are  lots  of  fellows 
that  do.  Perhaps  they  're  right  and  we  're  wrong. 


72 

I  can't  quite  see  it  myself  yet,  it's  true;  I  suppose 
I'm  not  going  to  make  a  man,  that's  all.  I've 
been  slowly  making  up  my  mind  to  it  for  the  last 
six  months.  I  couldn't  make  one  if  I  tried  in 
this  old  mill,  you  see." 

"What's  the  reason  you  can't?  Don't  you 
know  half  the  tall  men  in  the  world  have  worked 
their  way  to  it  through  what  they  didn't  like? 
That's  what  made  the  bone  and  sinew  of  them. 
How  many  of  the  fellows  tied  to  the  books  you  're 
sighing  for  like  digging  over  them,  do  you  sup- 
pose? How  do  you  suppose  the  Lord  'liked' 
helping  in  the  carpenter's  shop  or  having  crowds 
of  poor  beggars  wanting  something  all  the 
time?" 

1  'Oh,  come!"  exclaimed  Lee;  u if  you  get  to 
talking  about  that!" 

4 '  Why  should  n'  1 1  talk  about  it  ?  I  would  n'  t 
if  you  did  n't  seem  to  forget  it  What  do  you 
suppose  he  did  those  things  twenty  or  thirty  years 
for,  if  it  wasn't  to  show  us  how  to  be  a  prince 
and  a  man  among  men  ?  If  he '  d  said  he  *  could  n' t 
stand  it'  and  left  it,  do  you  think  we'd  be  wor- 
shipping him  much  to-day  ?  Now  do  n't  say  I  'm 
preaching,  for  it 's  no  such  thing.  I  have  n't  any 
too  much  courage  of  my  own,  and  if  you  ever  see 
it  giving  out,  just  try  to  give  me  a  lift;  that 's  all. 
Tell  me  to  'hold  on  tighter  the  harder  things 
pull.'  There's  a  customer  after  you.  I'll  leave 
you  to  'do  yourself  proud. '  " 


THORNS  IN  THE   PILLOW.  73 

Wynt  stopped  under  Mab's  window  as  he 
passed  it  on  his  way  into  the  grounds  from  the 
rear.  It  was  Mab's  way  of  "receiving,"  and  it 
was  hard  to  pass  those  brown  eyes  of  hers  without 
a  word.  Her  days  were  pretty  long  at  the  best, 
as  every  one  knew. 

"Are  you  where  you  like  to  be,  Mab?"  he 
asked  with  a  sudden  impulse,  still  thinking  of 
Lee.  Here  was  something,  now,  that  might  be 
called  "shut  up." 

Mab  colored  up  for  an  instant,  and  then  her 
eyes  shone.  "Where  I  like  to  be,  Mr.  Wynt? 
Yes,  of  all  places  in  the  world!  I  wouldn't 
move  out  of  it  to  be  as  free  as  a  bird." 

Wynt's  eyes  were  dropped  to  a  little  pebble  he 
was  kicking.  He  could  n't  get  over  having  blun- 
dered so  to  Mab. 

But  Mab  went  on,  with  a  pretty  little  half- 
laugh  that  just  showed  her  pearly  teeth.  "  Mind, 
I  don't  say  I  wouldn't  be  moved  out  of  it,  Mr. 
Wynt,"  she  said.  "  If  it  should  come  my  Lord's 
time  my  heart  would  spring  out  for  joy.  But  so 
long  as  he  keeps  me  here  there's  some  blessed 
thing  he's  working  out  by  it  that  I  wouldn't 
miss  for  my  life." 

"Then  if  you  should  'be  moved,'  you'd  be 
sure  it  was  all  right?" 

"  Yes,  sure,  if  I  'd  bided  my  time." 


74  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A   BROKEN   BOW. 

WYNT  mounted  the  piazza  steps  and  passed 
through  a  side  door  opening  into  a  little  hallway 
near  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  He  would  have  been 
over  them  with  a  bound,  but  he  suddenly  found 
some  one  confronting  him  in  the  way.  With  the 
change  from  the  summer  glitter  outside  to  the 
cool  darkened  hall,  for  an  instant  he  could  hardly 
see,  and  it  seemed  almost  as  if  some  statue  had 
been  moved  out  of  place,  so  silent  and  motionless 
the  figure  stood. 

"Bent!"  he  exclaimed;  "were  you  looking 
for  me?"  And  then,  feeling  sure  he  was  not, 
that  he  was  only  waiting  for  him  to  pass,  he 
turned  towards  the  stairs. 

But  Bent  started  and  stretched  a  hand  across 
them.  "Not  yet,  not  quite  yet,  Mr.  Wynt,  if 
you  please,"  he  said;  and  at  that  instant  a  con- 
fused sound  came  to  Wynt's  ear,  a  heavy  muffled 
trampling  of  feet  overhead. 

Where  was  it?  In  his  uncle's  room?  It 
certainly  was.  He  felt  his  pulse  stop,  with  one 
horrible  feeling  of  standing  still  for  ever,  and  then 
leap  forward  again,  and  he  made  a  movement  to 
pass  Bent 


A    BROKEN    BOW.  75 

u  I  beg  you  wont;  not  quite  yet,  Mr.  Wynt !" 
pleaded  Bent.  "Dr.  McPherson  is  there,  and 
he'll  have  everything  right.  The  rest  will  be 
down  presently,  and  then — " 

But  in  an  instant  Wynt  had  dashed  his  hand 
away  and  sprung  past.  "Remember,  I'm  his 
oldest  son  now,  Bent,"  he  said,  and  he  was  gone. 

Bent  wrung  his  hands  helplessly.  "It's  not 
a  thing  for  young  eyes  to  see,"  he  said;  "  not  for 
young  eyes.  A  bent  bow  broken,  as  Bab  would 
say.  Old  ones  like  mine  are  used  to  trouble, 
used  to  it,  I  say."  And  Bent  wandered  about 
the  hall  as  if  distracted. 

Would  they  never  come  down,  all  those  men 
who  had  carried  Mr.  Thorpe  up  ?  There  might 
be  an  excuse  then  to  go  and  see  what  was  left 
for  him  to  do.  Mr.  Cyp  might  be  coming  in, 
though.  He  must  be  on  the  lookout  for  him. 
He  must  n't  slip  by  ! 

And  then  he  paced  the  other  way  and  began 
saying  what  an  old  blockhead  he  had  been.  Mr. 
Wynt  must  go  up  sooner  or  later.  What  differ- 
ence did  it  make?  Of  course  he  must  go  up. 
He  was  quite  right.  And  Mr.  Thorpe  might 
have  been  wanting  him,  though  he  could  not 
speak  to  say  it.  Who  was  going  to  know  what 
he  did  want  after  this  ? 

Meantime  Wynt  had  reached  the  upper  hall 
and  was  standing  in  his  uncle's  room.  In  the 
hall  he  met  two  or  three  men,  he  could  not  tell 

SOUTH  BERKE1 

PRESBYTERIAN 


76  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

how  many.  He  only  knew  that  some  of  them  he 
did  not  recognize,  and  that  he  did  see  Jem  Dent, 
and  that  they  all  crowded  against  the  baluster 
and  stood  respectfully  waiting  for  him  to  pass. 
He  felt  that  they  tried  not  to  look  curiously  at 
him,  but  that  they  did  so  after  all. 

All  this  was  only  an  instant's  impression, 
something  that  he  saw  without  seeing  it,  and  he 
stepped  quickly  inside  the  room.  Who  had  a 
right  there  if  he  had  not?  Why  had  they  not 
sent  for  him  before  ? 

He  met  his  uncle's  eyes  instantly,  clear  as  he 
had  seen  them  two  hours  before,  and  brightening 
with  a  quick  look  of  welcome  as  Wynt  came  in. 
Then  the  judge  held  out  his  hand. 

Wynt  took  it  quickly.  He  knew  he  wanted 
him  there !  But  why  did  he  not  speak  ?  Why 
did  not  Dr,  McPherson  speak  ? 

"What  is  it ?"  he  exclaimed.  " Has  any  one 
hurt  you,  uncle ?  Are  you  hurt?" 

He  felt  his  hand  pressed  more  tightly,  but  still 
no  reply. 

"  I  do  not  think  he  can  speak  to  you,  Wynt," 
said  the  doctor  gently.  "He  was  not  able  to 
walk  home,  and  the  power  of  speech  seems 
affected  also,  more  or  less.  We  cannot  tell 
exactly  about  it  yet.  We  must  wait  for  to-mor- 
row and  hope  to  find  him  more  like  himself." 

Wynt  flashed  a  look  into  the  doctor's  eyes. 
He  knew  it  all  now.  The  doctor  need  not  tell 


A  BROKEN   BOW.  77 

him.  He  knew  even  the  very  word — the  very 
name — paralysis!  And  they  would  never  find  him 
" more  like  himself."  What  was  the  use  of  pre- 
tending that  they  would  ? 

He  covered  his  uncle's  hand  with  both  of  his 
and  kissed  it  with  a  quick,  passionate  movement. 
Then  he  looked  for  the  other  one  where  it  lay  at 
his  side  and  lifted  that 

How  strange  it  felt  in  his  touch — so  unlike 
a  thing  of  life!  And  the  heavy  arm  seemed 
holding  it  back  like  a  weight.  That  handsome 
hand  that  Wynt  had  been  so  proud  of,  a  hand 
that  had  always  expressed  so  much;  and  now — 
what  a  strange,  passive  outline  it  had  ! 

Thank  heaven,  it  was  the  right  hand  that 
was  free.  If  the  doctor  should  by  any  possibility 
be  right,  if  part  of  this  horrible  thing  should 
disappear,  he  would  have  that  at  least. 

These  thoughts  passed  in  a  flash,  and — what 
was  his  uncle  trying  to  signal  to  him  ? 

The  doctor  knew.  He  was  turning  towards 
the  table.  He  had  lived  these  things  through  so 
many  times.  ' '  Have  you  pencil  and  paper  here  ?' ' 
he  said.  "He  wants  to  use  them;  he  wants  to 
say  something  to  you,  I  think." 

Wynt  turned  instantly  to  a  small  desk  at  the 
other  side  of  the  room  and  brought  them.  The 
doctor  drew  a  memorandum  book  from  his 
pocket,  laid  the  paper  upon  it,  and  held  them 
quietly  under  Judge  Havisham's  hand. 


78  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Wynt  watched  so  eagerly.  The  hold  of  the 
pencil  was  strong;  surely  there  was  something  left 
yet. 

The  doctor  handed  him  the  paper  and  he  read, 
"Don't  worry,  Wynt.  We'll  get  over  this." 
Wynt  handed  it  to  the  doctor. 

"All  right!"  he  said  cheerily.  "  Now,  then, 
quiet  is  the  only  way  to  it.  You  and  I  must  go, 
and  I  am  going  to  send  Barbie  up  for  a  while  till 
I  get  some  one  in  who  has  a  stronger  lift  than 
she."  And  he  got  Wynt  out  at  the  door.  Bar- 
bie stood  like  a  statue  a  little  way  from  it.  He 
made  her  a  signal  and  she  went  noiselessly  in. 

"Now,  doctor,"  Wynt  said,  turning  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs,  "  tell  me  the  truth." 

"I'd  tell  it  to  you  if  I  knew  it,  Wynt.  We 
can't  say  positively  about  these  things  always, 
you  know.  But  I  '11  tell  you  this.  Your  uncle 
believes  what  he  said  to  you.  That  is  plain  in 
his  face.  He  remembers  that  two  hours  ago  he 
had  never  felt  better  in  his  life,  or  thought  so,  at 
least,  though  actually  he  must  have  been  over- 
done. He  has  been  working  very  hard,  and — 
By  the  way,  has  anything  been  troubling  him  of 
late,  anything  especially  pressing  on  him,  so  far 
as  you  know?" 

Wynt  shook  his  head.  Bent  turned  and  walked 
away  with  a  little  gesture  that  no  one  saw. 

"Well,  we  cannot  tell.  These  things  have 
causes  out  of  sight,  many  times,  and  I  'm  sorry 


A  BROKEN   BOW.  79 

to  say  they  're  in  the  family  once  or  twice  here. 
Now  there  are  only  two  medicines  to  use :  quiet 
and  good  hope.  I  will  give  orders  that  when- 
ever he  asks  for  you  you  are  to  be  called ;  but 
don't  stay  over  five  minutes  in  the  room.  And 
while  you  're  there  let  him  think  you  feel  as  he 
does,  if  you  can.  Take  the  ground  that  all  will 
come  out  right  Don't  say  much,  but  just  have 
that  air,  you  know.  It  will  be  hard  for  you,  my 
boy;  but  it's  a  hard  time  altogether  for  the  old 
house.  I  'm  sorry,  though,  to  have  you  get  the 
touch  of  it.  You're  young  to  begin."  The 
doctor  hesitated  and  looked  at  Wynt  as  if  he 
hated  to  leave  him,  but  in  another  moment  he 
was  gone. 

Wynt  stood  as  if  he  were  turned  to  stone,  the 
doctor's  words  clear  as  arrows  in  his  mind  at  one 
moment,  and  at  the  next  repeating  themselves 
in  a  confused,  dreamy  way.  "  Begin  "?  Did  the 
doctor  think  this  was  the  beginning  with  him? 
And  his  memory  flashed  back  in  an  instant  to 
the  first  touch  of  sudden  terror,  two  years  and  a 
half  ago. 

But  now ! 

It  seemed  to  him  he  could  not  breathe.  A 
weight  lay  upon  him  everywhere.  Then  he  lifted 
his  own  hand  and  looked  at  it  How  strange  it 
seemed  that  he  could  move  it !  Why  could  not 
his  uncle  move  his  ? 

Then  he  raised  his  eyes  and  caught  sight  of 


8o  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

Bent,  leaning  against  a  doorway  at  the  end  of  1.1.2 
hall,  his  face  pitifully  white,  his  hands  clasped 
and  dropped  hopelessly  before  him. 

Wynt  started  and  went  over  to  him.  How 
heavy  his  feet  felt  as  he  lifted  them  ! 

"Bent,  old  fellow!"  he  said,  laying  a  hand 
on  his  shoulder,  t "  do  n't !  We  must  take  cour- 
age. It  may  not  be  so  bad.  See  what  Mr. 
Thorpe  wrote  for  me  himself.  He  can  write, 
Bent,  don't  you  see?  He  says  he  shall  get  over 
it  To-morrow,  perhaps,  it  will  not  seem  so  bad. ' ' 

But  when  he  had  got  away  from  Bent  he 
turned  and  was  gone  in  an  instant  Anywhere, 
somewhere,  to  be  alone ! 

His  uncle's  little  study — that  was  the  best 
place.  He  drew  the  curtain  behind  him  and 
leaned  against  the  wall,  as  Bent  had  done.  That 
easy-chair  of  his  uncle's — he  could  not  have  sat 
down  in  it ! 

But  what  difference  did  sitting  or  standing 
make?  He  wondered  if  the  heavy,  icy  feeling  he 
had  would  be  anywise  different  if  he  really  were 
turning  to  stone.  Then  he  found  himself  repeat- 
ing in  a  dull  sort  of  agony, 

"No.  It  will  not  be  better  to-morrow.  No. 
He  will  not  '  get  over '  it.  No.  It  will  not  be 
better.  The  doctor  thinks  it  will  not,  really.  I 
could  see  that  It  never  does  get  well,  a  thing 
like  that  No;  to-morrow  will  be  the  same.  Or 
worse?" 


A   BROKEN   BOW.  8l 

That  he  could  not  bear,  and  he  broke  out  into 
a  sudden  cry.  "Oh,  I  knew  I  loved  him,  but  I 
did  not  know  he  was  the  world  itself  to  me !  It 
seems  as  if  there  would  be  nothing  left.  Every 
inch  of  him,  body,  soul,  and  mind,  has  seemed  so 
glorious  to  me.  No,  he  cannot  die !  There  are 
so  many  people  who  would  never  be  missed  out 
of  the  world." 

How  long  he  stood  there  he  never  knew.  He 
wished  he  need  never  move.  He  heard  the  orioles 
out  in  the  elm-tree  again.  Were  they  going  to 
build  another  nest  ?  No,  that  could  not  be  their 
way. 

Then  different  things  began  trooping  through 
his  mind,  and  at  last  Mab's  words  of  an  hour  ago. 
Was  it  only  an  hour  ? 

"There's  some  blessed  thing  my  Lord  is 
working  out  by  it  that  I  would  not  miss  for  my 
life." 

"Oh,  I  know  it !  I  know  it !  And  I  would 
not  miss  it  for  mine.  And  I  shall  always  have 
Him,  best  of  all,  whatever  is  taken  away.  I 
do  n't  forget  that;  I  did  n't  forget  it  But  I  can't 
think  everything  at  once.  I  don't  know  what  it 
is;"  and  he  passed  his  hand  over  his  forehead.  It 
seemed  as  if — what  did  the  doctor  say  he  wanted 
him  to  do? 

Suddenly  a  sound  broke  through  the  hush  of 
the  house.  It  came  whirring  up  from  the  drive- 
way outside,  a  clear  trilling  little  cry,  half  whistle 

Judte  Harltbuo'l  Will.  6 


82  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

and  half  song,  that  Cyp  had  established  as  his 
signal  when  he  came  into  the  grounds. 

Wynt  started.  Cyp  was  coming.  He  must 
see  to  him;  Cyp  must  be  told.  And  he  would 
be  looking  for  both  of  them.  How  sure  his  uncle 
had  been  to  drop  whatever  he  was  doing  and  step 
out  to  the  piazza,  when  he  heard  that  sound.  He 
liked  to  see  Cyp  coming  in. 

Wynt  went  quickly  through  the  rooms;  Cyp 
was  just  at  the  piazza  steps,  coming  up  with  the 
little  swagger  that  he  always  got  on  when  his 
spirits  were  particularly  high. 

"Oh,  halloa!"  he  said.  " Where's  uncle? 
I've  had  the  jolliest  old  time  over  at  the  fall. 
The  Wilkies  took  me.  I  want  to  tell  him  about 
it,  because,  don't  you  remember,  he  said — " 

"Come  and  tell  me  about  it,  Cyp,"  Wynt 
said,  getting  him  into  the  house  and  over  towards 
the  sofa  where  his  evening  nap  had  scandalized 
Bent 

"Yes,  but  that  isn't  the  point,"  persisted 
Cyp,  with  a  little  air.  "  Uncle  and  I  had  a  dis- 
agreement, don't  you  know,  about  the  big  boul- 
der out  there.  And  we  had  hammers,  Dr.  Thad 
Wilkie  and  I,  and  we  know  now  !" 

"Do  you?  That's  good;  but  you'd  better 
take  up  with  me,  Cyp.  I  don't  think  you  can 
tell  uncle  to-day.  Not  before  to-morrow,  at  the 
best." 

Cyp  started,  and  lifting  his  face,  shot  one  of 


A   BROKEN    BOW.  83 

his  keen,  concentrated  looks  into  Wynt's.  He 
never  hurried  with  them,  and  this  one  was  hard 
to  meet  just  now.  "What  is  the  matter  with 
him?"  he  said  at  last  suddenly.  "And  what  is 
the  matter  with  you?"  as  his  eyes  still  measured 
and  penetrated  Wynt's  face. 

"  He  is  not  well,"  answered  Wynt,  command- 
ing himself  as  well  as  he  could  under  such  fire. 
"We  can't  tell  why  he  should  not  be,  he  was  so 
well  a  little  while  ago.  But  Dr.  McPherson  says 
he  must  keep  very  quiet  now.  We  must  not  go 
to  him  now  unless  we  are  called.  So  you  had 
better  tell  me  about  the  boulder,  Cyp.  We  must 
be  the  best  company  we  can  for  each  other  to- 
night." 

Still  Cyp's  eyes  had  not  stirred.  He  put  up  a 
hand  suddenly  and  felt  Wynt's  face,  as  he  had 
done  the  other  day;  then  dropped  the  hand,  and 
next  another  swift  little  question  was  struck  at 
Wynt  and  almost  threw  him  off  his  guard. 

" I  say,  Wynt,  will  he  ever  get  well?" 

Why  should  Cyp  ask  him  that  ?  He  had  only 
said  his  uncle  was  ill  and  was  to  be  left  alone. 
' '  Why,  of  course,  I  hope  so,  Cyp.  Why  should 
he  not?  People  almost  always  do.  It  seems 
strange  for  him,  because  he  is  always  so  strong 
and  gay,  but  every  one  is  ill  sometimes,  you 
know.  We  must  try  not  to  disturb  him;  that  is 
all  we  can  do." 

Cyp  put  a  hand  on  each  of  Wynt's  shoulders, 


84  JUDGE  HAvisHA^rs  WILL. 

bringing  their  eyes  still  nearer  together,  and  pulled 
him  with  an  imperative  little  touch.  "  Tell  me  !" 
he  said.  "  You  might  just  as  well." 

Wynt  gave  way  suddenly.  Somehow  Cyp 
seemed  almost  as  old  as  he  at  that  moment  Why 
should  they  not  share  a  little,  after  all  ? 

He  caught  Cyp  in  his  arms  and  pressed  him 
convulsively.  "  Oh,  Cyp  !  Cyp !  I  do  n't  know. 
How  can  we  know  ?  But  he  is  too  dear  and  glo- 
rious and  young  to  die.  And  how  could  we  ever 
let  him  go?" 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  WORDS.  85 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  MYSTERIOUS  WORDS. 

BUT  the  next  day  brought  very  little  change, 
and  the  next  dragged  along  in  the  same  slow, 
dreary  way.  Dreary  outside  of  the  judge's  room, 
but  inside,  in  spite  of  the  silence  and  the  helpless 
lying  still,  no  one  could  help  feeling  that  the 
judge  was  only  waiting  quietly  a  few  days  till 
this  thing  should  pass  off.  He  had  Wynt  or  Cyp 
up  every  few  hours,  and  always  wrote  a  few 
words  cheerfully,  Cyp  watching  the  process  with 
eyes  turning  swiftly  between  his  uncle's  hand  and 
his  face  as  he  wrote.  What  was  it  all?  What 
could  it  all  mean?  He  could  see  no  change  any- 
where except  in  that  poor  left  hand,  and  that 
was  almost  always  out  of  sight 

Outside  telegrams  had  been  flying  and  mes- 
sages coming  in  from  every  direction.  The  doc- 
tor kept  away  all  offers  of  coming  of  friends;  ha 
would  rather  keep  his  patient  just  as  he  was, 
with  a  strong  man  nurse  and  otherwise  only 
household  faces  about  him.  As  for  Vivian,  two 
weeks  would  scarcely  bring  her,  but  telegrams 
were  sent  her  daily,  following  her  movements  as 
closely  as  possible  until  she  should  take  her 
steamer  direct  for  home. 


86  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

Bent  was  kept  busy  warding  off  inquirers  from 
the  door,  or  rather  opening  it  noiselessly  to  meet 
them  before  they  could  be  heard.  The  Wil- 
kies  got  Cyp  off  when  they  could,  but  he  would 
not  leave  Wynt  without  coaxing  and  pretext  To 
Wynt  the  days  were  heaviest 

"I  guess  I'm  finding  out  how  it  seems  to 
Mab  to  sit  alone  and  bear  things,"  he  said  at 
last,  and  he  sprang  up  and,  hardly  knowing  that 
he  did  so,  made  his  way  down  to  her  window. 

She  was  there,  and  saw  him  long  before  he 
reached  it  Indeed,  something  made  him  feel 
she  had  been  watching  for  him. 

"  Oh,  I  know !  I  know  just  how  it  must 
be,  Mr.  Wynt — so  long  and  slow  the  hours  are 
moving  by.  But  don't  let  yourself  feel  that 
you're  left  to  it  all  atone!  You  never  are,  Mr. 
Wynt,  never.  I  found  that  out  long  ago,  and  you 
do  n't  know  how  you  can  live  on  it  if  you  once 
feel  sure.  There 's  One  your  heart  can  talk  to  all 
the  time.  And  He  hears  so  much  quicker  and 
more  than  any  one  else.  And  he  says  so  many 
things  back.  Don't  you  know  it,  Mr.  Wynt?" 

"Yes,  Mab,  I  should  have  gone  wild  if  I 
had  n't.  But  even  He  used  to  feel  that  he  wanted 
to  see  a  friend  about  sometimes,  you  know." 

"  Indeed  He  did,  and  I  know  it  all  for  you, 
Mr.  Wynt  Do  you  think  it  will  be  long  till 
Miss  Vivian  can  get  across?" 

Wynt  smiled  a  little  bitterly  to  himself  at  this 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  WORDS.  87 

suggestion  of  help  and  comfort,  though  he  an- 
swered Mab  quietly  about  the  time. 

Vivian !  She  would  come  in  sweet  and  charm- 
ing and  graceful  and  bring  her  strange  beauty 
with  her,  but —  He  could  not  define  to  himself 
the  feelings  that  rose  in  confusion  at  even  the 
sound  of  her  name.  Had  she  made  his  uncle 
happy  when  she  was  at  home  last?  Would  she 
want  to  find  him  and  Cyp  there  when  she  came? 

At  the  same  moment  Dr.  McPherson  was 
talking  with  Mr.  Wilkie,  to  whom  he  spoke  con- 
fidentially, as  to  no  one  else,  about  the  judge. 
"The  only  real  hope  I  feel  in  the  case  is,"  he 
said,  "  the  quiet  expectation  of  the  judge  himself. 
Strange,  too,  very,  for  he  knows  enough  about 
such  things.  He  seems  to  have  no  other  thought 
but  of  being  all  right  again  soon ;  has  not  had,  at 
least,  until  to-day.  I  suppose  the  thought  of 
some  possibility  must  have  entered  his  mind,  for 
he  had  a  slightly  troubled  look  at  one  time  and 
wrote  me  that  he  wished  to  make  a  change  in  his 
will.  I  put  him  off,  for  I  did  n't  dare  risk  it,  and 
I  wanted  to  see  you  first  If  I  knew  those  boys 
were  provided  for,  I'd  never  let  him  make  the 
effort  for  any  minor  point  If  they're  not,  I  de- 
clare I  believe  I  'd  run  the  chance.  I  thought 
perhaps  you  would  know,  Wilkie." 

"They  are.  They  must  be,  at  least,  for  he 
spoke  of  it  to  me,  positively,  not  two  months  ago. 
It  seemed  something  very  much  on  his  mind. 


88  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

He  even  showed  me  the  very  place  where  his 
will  was  to  be  found;  it  is  lying  in  his  safe  to- 
day, I  do  n't  doubt." 

"Then  I  think  I'll  see  what  to-morrow 
brings.  If  he  should  seem  a  little  stronger — 
But  I  don't  know.  If  he  could  dictate  it  would 
be  a  different  thing,  but  this  writing  business,  in 
his  state;  it's  too  great  a  strain." 

The  next  morning  Dr.  McPherson  did  not 
make  his  visit  quite  as  early  as  before.  An  im- 
perative call  in  another  direction  delayed  him, 
and  an  hour  later  than  his  previous  time  of  com- 
ing he  had  not  appeared. 

Wynt  was  standing  at  the  library  window, 
half  vacantly,  half  impatiently  watching  for  him. 
He  had  a  dreary  feeling  that  the  doctor  could  not 
do  any  good  up  stairs,  and  yet  he  clung  to  him  as 
the  only  hope;  and  down  stairs  it  was  such  a 
break  in  the  day,  such  a  big,  cheery  help,  to  have 
him  come  in.  It  always  seemed,  at  least,  as  if 
everything  was  lifted  along. 

He  started  as  he  heard  his  name  spoken  be- 
hind him.  Was  that  Bent?  How  strange  his 
voice  sounded ! 

He  turned  and  looked  at  him.  "What  is  it, 
Bent?" 

"Would  you  please  come  up  stairs,  Mr. 
Wynt?" 

What  could  make  Bent  look  so?  "Is  he 
worse?"  he  asked,  leaving  the  window  hastily. 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  WORDS.  89 

"  Barbie  said  it  seemed  as  if  a  sudden  worry 
seized  him,  as  if  he  was  terrified  at  something, 
and  he  called  for  you." 

Wynt  was  out  of  the  door  almost  before  Bent 
had  ceased  speaking,  and  in  another  instant  was 
at  the  threshold  of  the  sick-room. 

His  uncle's  eyes  met  him.  They  had  been 
fixed  on  the  door  with  an  expression  of  eager 
haste  which  only  intensified  as  he  saw  Wynt. 

Wynt  stepped  instantly  to  him.  "  What  is  it, 
dear  uncle?  What  can  I  do  for  you?"  And  he 
held  the  writing-tablet  to  the  judge's  hand. 

He  wrote  hurriedly,  but  with  an  effort  that 
Wynt  had  not  noticed  before.  Only  a  few  words, 
and  then  the  pencil  seemed  to  hesitate.  He 
turned  his  eyes  to  Wynt  appealingly,  as  if  he  al- 
most thought  he  might  do  it  for  him.  Then  he 
made  a  renewed  effort,  there  were  two  or  three 
more  words,  and  then — 

Wynt  never  could  remember  what  came  then. 
He  knew  that  beside  Barbie  and  the  nurse  Bent 
was  suddenly  there,  and  in  a  moment  more  the 
doctor  had  come;  that  the  doctor  put  his  ear  to 
his  uncle's  heart  and  said,  "Yes,"  and  then 
turned  to  Wynt  and  grasped  his  hand  tightly. 
"My  boy,  he  is  gone  !"  he  said. 

And  then  somehow,  Wynt  never  remembered 
how,  the  doctor  had  got  over  the  stairs  with  him 
and  they  were  in  the  library  together. 

He  remembered  that  the  doctor  had  turned 


90  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

away  from  him  for  an  instant,  as  if  lie  could  not 
speak.  He  and  Judge  Havisham  had  been  close 
friends  from  boyhood.  Wynt  knew  that  very 
well. 

"Wynt,  my  man,"  he  said,  "this  is  hard  for 
all  of  us.  The  finest  fellow  this  old  town  ever 
saw,  by  a  hundred  fold !  But  what  will  you  do  ? 
How  are  you  going  to  hold  up?" 

Wynt  looked  at  him.  u  I?"  he  repeated  me- 
chanically. "Oh,  I  shall  have  to  hold  on — hold 
on  the  tighter  the  harder  things  pull." 

But  the  next  moment  he  caught  himself  again. 
What  was  he  thinking  of,  bringing  Cyp's  little 
saying  up  just  now  ?  How  was  the  doctor  to  un- 
derstand ? 

"I  don't  know,  doctor,"  he  went  on  has- 
tily. "You  wont  expect  me  to  know  just  yet. 
I'm  glad  you  think  he  was  fine.  You  knew 
him  better  than  most  people.  But  no  one  can 
ever  know  him  as  we  did,  Cyp  and  I.  Poor  little 
Cyp!" 

"Where  is  he?"  asked  the  doctor. 

"I  don't  know.  I  must  look  for  him.'* 
And  then  suddenly  he  gave  way.  He  had  been 
looking  steadily  at  the  doctor,  with  the  quiet 
natural  to  his  dark  face  intensified;  but  he  threw 
himself  down  now,  with  his  head  buried  in  his 
arms,  upon  his  uncle's  table,  with  a  moan  that 
went  to  the  doctor's  heart. 

"See  here,  Wynt,"  he  said  after  a  moment, 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  WORDS.  91 

"what  are  we  going  to  do?  I  can't  leave  you 
two  here  alone.  Will  you  come  to  my  house  ?  or 
whom  will  you  let  me  send  to  you?" 

Wynt  raised  his  head  quickly.  "  Oh,  no  one. 
No  one,  please.  And,  you  are  very  kind,  but  we 
could  not  go  away  from  here.  He  always  wanted 
us  here,  you  know.  We  must  stay  with  him. 
That  is  to  say,"  with  a  little  shudder  and  then 
a  thought  of  Vivian,  "as  long  as  we  can.  Where 
we  shall  go  then  I  don't  know;  but  I  must  fight 
Cyp's  way  in  the  world  for  him  somewhere." 

"You'll  not  have  that  to  do,  I  trust  You 
will  find  your  uncle  has  taken  care  of  that,  I 
think." 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  Wynt  wearily. 
He  could  not  seem  to  think  of  things  any  more, 
just  now;  and  he  had  never  thought  of  that 

But  the  doctor's  words  reminded  him,  he  did 
not  know  how,  of  the  bit  of  paper  he  held 
crumpled  in  his  hand.  He  had  caught  it  from 
under  his  uncle's,  without  an  instant  to  read  it, 
just  as  that  dreadful  confusion  came,  and  he  did 
uot  even  know  he  had  been  holding  it  all  this 
time.  He  looked  down  at  it  now,  and  the  doc- 
tor's eyes  followed  his. 

"What  have  you  there?"  he  asked. 

"  He  sent  for  me,  he  wanted  to  speak  to  me, 
just  before  you  came.  This  is  it  I  did  not  know 
it  was  here." 

He  opened  it  and  they  read  it  together. 


93  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

UI  do  not  wish  my  last  will  carried  out  I 
revoke — "  then  came  the  gap  the  hesitation  had 
made,  and  then,  uncertainly  written,  "  promise 
to,"  and  that  was  all. 

"Oh,  that  was  what  he  wanted !  That  was 
what  troubled  him!"  exclaimed  Wynt.  "Bent 
said  he  had  a  frightened  look,  but  I  knew  he  had 
nothing  to  fear.  Do  you  think — " 

1 '  Yes,  Wynt,  I  do.  He  had  wished  strongly 
to  do  something  of  this  kind,  I  know,  but  had 
thought  he  would  recover.  I  think  he  suddenly 
became  conscious  that  he  should  not,  and  was 
terrified  lest  it  was  too  late." 

"Oh,  I  am  so  glad,  so  thankful!  It  would 
have  been  so  dreadful  to  do  anything  as  he  did 
not  wish." 

The  doctor  looked  at  him  a  moment  silently. 
aBut,  Wynt,  there  is  no  signature  to  this.  And 
it  specifies  nothing.  It  would  not  hold  in  law." 

Wynt  sprang  up  excitedly.  "But  it  would 
hold  in  right !  It  would  hold  in  honor  !  Who 
has  a  right  to  do  what  he  told  me  with  his  last 
breath  he  did  not  wish  done?" 

The  doctor  rose  to  go.  "Very  well,  Wynt. 
Ask  Mr.  Wilkie  about  it.  He  will  be  able  to 
advise.  Keep  it  carefully  till  you  see  him.  That 
will  be  very  soon,  I  don't  doubt." 

"The  boy  doesn't  know  what  he  is  talking 
about,"  he  said  to  himself,  as  he  drove  away. 
"That  'last  will,'  as  I  understand,  provides 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  WORDS.  93 

handsomely  for  him  and  Cyp.  Knock  it  away, 
and  where  are  they  ?  I'm  sorry  the  judge  got 
as  far  as  that,  since  he  got  no  farther,  and  sorry 
the  boy  happens  to  have  hold  of  it.  He  talks  as 
if  he  would  make  fight  for  it.  There 's  not  one 
in  ten  thousand  that  would,  after  the  truth  is 
known;  but  I'm  not  sure  about  him.  He's  got 
a  deal  of  stuff  in  his  make-up." 

Meantime  Wynt  was  pressing  the  paper  in 
question  passionately  against  his  brown  cheek. 
"'Keep  it  carefully^'  the  doctor  said!  Oh, 
uncle !  uncle  I  how  little  any  one  knows  how  I 
love  you  1" 


94  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

CHAPTER    XI. 
THE  "LAST  WILL." 

THE  next  two  days  went  by  as  such  days 
always  must — the  same  hush  in  the  house,  the 
same  shaded  rooms,  the  same  heavy  passing  of 
the  hours,  the  same  slow,  bitter  realizing  of  what 
could  not  seem  true  at  first. 

Cyp's^rst  wild  little  agony  of  grief  had  been 
pitiful  to  see;  he  could  scarcely  be  got  away  from 
Wynt,  and  clung  to  him  sometimes  with  an 
actual  grasp,  as  if  he  would  never  let  him  go. 

"Oh,  what  can  we  do?  What  can  we  do? 
Wynt,  what  can  we  do?"  was  one  of  his  cries 
as  he  followed  him  across  the  room  the  next  day. 
Wynt  could  hardly  move  that  he  was  not  close  at 
his  side. 

Wynt  turned  and  got  his  arms  round  him 
again.  "I  don't  know  what  we  can  do,  Cyp, 
except  to  *  hold  on,'  "  he  said. 

"But  what  is  there  left  to  hold  on  to?  I 
didn't  think  he  would  leave  us.  I  know  he 
meant  to  stick  by  us.  He  told  me  once  he  did." 

"We  can  hold  on  to  the  right,  Cyp,  and  to 
the  good  and  the  true.  We  can  always  find  those 
to  'stick  by.'  And  we  can — " 

He   hesitated  a  moment,   and  his  thoughts 


THE   "  LAST  WILL.'*  95 

flashed  again  to  that  " climate"  which  Judge 
Havisham  had  so  detested,  feeling  that  his  one 
half-worshipped  sister  had  faded  away  under  its 
power.  To  Wynt  every  memory  of  it  was  luxu- 
rious, with  its  warmth,  its  languor,  and  its  flowers, 
but,  above  all,  his  mother's  invalid  room,  exqui- 
site and  wonderful  as  it  seemed  to  him.  All  the 
rest  of  the  life  seemed  to  be  shaped  outward  from 
that;  and  one  of  the  most  vivid  parts  of  it  was 
the  teaching,  as  real  as  the  fruits  and  flowers, 
that  it  was  all  with  and  to  and  from  the  most 
loved  Master,  who  was  never  far  away. 

Cyp  was  so  much  younger,  but  he  was  given 
his  share  in  it,  as  well  as  could  be,  too;  yet  never 
when  they  were  together.  These  things  were 
always  for  some  choice  moment  with  her  when 
no  one.  else  was  by.  And  it  was  not  his  uncle's 
way  to  speak  of  them,  and  so,  beyond  hearing 
Cyp  say  his  prayers —  But  what  if  it  did  seem 
strange?  Why  shouldn't  he  talk  to  Cyp  about 
their  Lord,  the  one  only  love  they  had  to  fasten 
to  now  ? 

So  he  went  on  quickly.  "  And  we  can  hold 
on  to  our  Elder  Brother,  Cyp,  our  own  Lord 
Christ  You  know  how  close  he  used  to  hold 
sorrowful  people  when  he  was  here,  and  it 's  just 
the  same  now.  We  needn't  trouble  ourselves 
about  everything  we  don't  see.  He  knows  all 
about  it,  and  it's  all  right'* 

Cyp  was  silent  a  moment,  and  then  broke  out 


96  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL, 

vehemently,  "I  shouldn't  think  we  did  'see/ 
I  can't  understand  anything,  and  it  seems  as  if 
there  was  nothing  left." 

" There's  a  whole  life  left,  Cyp.  Did  you 
*  understand '  everything  when  we  got  on  board 
the  ship  because  uncle  sent  for  us  to  come  here  ? 
We  had  never  seen  him  and  had  no  idea  what  we 
were  coming  to,  and  we  thought  we  were  leaving 
everything  behind.  But  he  knew.  He  had  made 
his  plans,  and  all  the  tossing  about  we  had,  that 
stormy  time  at  sea,  was  just  bringing  us  to  him 
and  the  happy  times  he  had  ready  for  us." 

Cyp  was  silent  again. 

u  But  now,"  he  said  at  last,  drawing  himself 
together  with  a  convulsive  little  pull. 

"  But  now  we  have  lost  him,"  finished  Wynt 
"  But  we  can  never  lose  our  Christ.  He  is  the 
Shepherd,  you  know,  that  never  leaves  us. 
Don't  you  think  it  would  have  hurt  uncle  if  we 
had  been  afraid  when  he  was  planning  for  us  ? 
We  mustn't  hurt  our  Lord." 

"But — but  we  loved  him  so!  I  say,  Wynt, 
I  say,  we  loved  him  so  !" 

UI  know  we  did.  It's  bitter,  bitter,  Cyp. 
But  we  must  love  our  Christ  all  the  more,  for 
comfort.  We  must  hold  on  tighter  yet  Now  I 
am  going  into  the  study  to  look  for  some  papers 
Mr.  Wilkie  wants  me  to  find.  He  is  well  enough 
to  work  again,  you  know,  and  there  is  something 
uncle  had  not  finished,  and  the  people  can't  wait 


THE      LAST  WILL."  97 

Come  along  with  me,  and  then  we  '11  find  Waite 
and  send  the  papers  off.  I  'm  afraid  Mr.  Wilkie 
will  think  I  have  been  slow." 

Mr.  Wilkie  was  not  thinking  of  the  papers  at 
all.  He  was  talking  with  Dr.  McPherson  again. 

"I'm  glad  those  people  are  coming  this 
noon,"  he  said.  "Lewyn  Havisham,  the  judge's 
nephew,  you  know,  and  his  wife,  and  two  or 
three  more.  I'm  most  glad  of  Mrs.  Lewyn. 
They  need  some  woman  about ;  needed  one 
enough  when  the  judge  was  alive.  I  hope  she  '11 
stay  till  Mrs.  Adriance  gets  here.  I  '11  make  her 
if  I  can.  That  Wynt  's  a  strange  fellow,  though. 
I  tried  to  get  them  down  here  last  night — it 's  all 
wrong  for  them  to  be  there  alone,  of  course — but 
I  couldn't  make  him  budge.  Then  I  tried  to 
stay  there;  but  he  said  they  had  Barbara  and 
Bent  and  they  were  all  right,  and  I  really 
thought  the  boy  would  rather  be  left  as  he  was. 
I  stayed  as  late  as  I  could  and  came  off." 

"  Did  he  say  anything  to  you  about  a  paper 
he  has?" 

"A  paper?  No.  What  is  it?  Do  you 
know?" 

"Something  the  judge  put  his  last  strength 
into  to  write.  A  few  words  about  his  will." 

"His  will!"  And  Mr.  Wilkie  started  with 
surprise  and  interest. 

"Yes.  He  wished  some  change  made,  it 
seems.  As  I  told  you,  he  had  intimated  as  much 

Jadfe  lUrlihun-i  Will.  J 


98  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

to  me  the  day  before.  I  am  almost  sorry  now — 
But  no.  He  could  not  have  done  it  It  would 
not  have  answered  to  let  him  try." 

"  But  this  paper.  Was  the  change  specified? 
Was  there  a  signature?" 

"He  'did  not  wish  his  last  will  carried  out,' 
if  that  is  specifying  a  change.  But  there  was  no 
signature.  He  did  not  even  succeed  in  finishing 
what  he  had  to  say." 

"His  last  will?  That  must  be  the  one,  of 
course,  that  he  was  talking  of  to  me  the  other 
day,  the  one  providing  for  the  boys.  It's  not 
possible  he  thought  of  throwing  them  over  at  the 
last." 

"I  should  not  think  so.  Not  if  he  was  him- 
self, certainly.  But  in  those  cases  the  mind  is — 
well,  you're  very  uncertain  about  it  at  least 
Wynt  will  keep  quiet  about  it,  however,  for  a  day 
or  two,  till — till  such  matters  ought  to  come  up; 
and  I  've  told  him  you  would  consult  with  him 
then." 

"When  all  is  over,  of  course.  I  tell  you,  Me- 
Pherson,  the  town  never  saw  such  a  funeral  as 
that  will  be.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child, 
pretty  nearly,  will  be  on  those  grounds,  if  they 
can't  get  into  the  house.  There's  not  a  soul  that 
didn't  love  him,  and  precious  few  that  he  had  not 
done  some  kindness  to." 

And  so  it  proved.  Wynt  and  Cyp  saw  noth- 
ing, knew  nothing  of  it,  except  a  confused  sense 


THE  "LAST  WILL."  99 

of  many  people  as  they  went  to  their  carriage; 
and  as  they  returned  to  it  they  had  an  instant's 
glimpse  of  a  long  line  stretching  away.  But  the 
very  grass  of  the  lawn  looked  trampled  the  next 
day,  from  the  many  feet  that  had  stood  there, 
pressing  as  close  to  the  house  as  they  could  come. 

And  the  next  day  came  what  was  almost  harder 
yet:  the  vague  desolate  feeling  that  things  must 
go  on  somehow,  and  the  strain  of  seeming  to  keep 
up,  with  all  the  time  that  feeling  that  it  was 
only  a  seeming,  as  if  they  were  only  acting  a 
part. 

Mrs.  L/ewyn  carried  out  Mr.  Wilkie's  hope, 
and  quietly  established  herself,  without  even  ask- 
ing a  yea  or  a  nay. 

"I  simply  shall  not  leave  those  boys  till 
Vivian  comes  in  at  the  door,"  she  said  in  her 
straightforward  way.  "It's  not  the  thing  to  be 
done.  I  sha'  n't  worry  them.  I  '11  leave  them  to 
themselves  whenever  it  is  best,  but  they  're  not  to 
be  here  alone,  poor  souls." 

And  even  Wynt  and  Cyp,  though  they  would 
have  been  in  great  trouble  if  she  had  asked  how 
they  would  like  it,  found  that  they  did  like  it 
very  much.  She  was  a  comfortable,  motherly 
little  body,  not  so  very  much  older  than  Vivian; 
of  course  not  with  her  beauty,  but  pretty  for  all 
that;  and  she  went  fluttering  about  in  a  way 
that  made  things  seem  cheerful  wherever  she 
came  in. 


IOO  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

She  got  the  windows  open,  books  strewed 
about,  and  the  flowers  on  the  dining-table  again. 
She  stole  Cyp  off  for  drives,  and  got  down  Vivi- 
an's old  easel  and  went  to  work  upon  one  bit  of 
painting  after  another,  which  fascinated  Cyp  and 
kept  him  watching  her  for  hours  at  a  time. 

And  Wynt  found,  too,  that  the  corner  where 
she  kept  her  "  dabbling,"  as  she  called  it,  was  the 
pleasantest  one  where  he  could  take  his  book. 
He  was  reading,  after  a  fashion,  it  is  true,  but  it 
was  pleasant  to  watch  the  colors  going  in,  if  only 
as  he  turned  the  pages,  and  to  lend  half  an  ear  to 
Mrs.  Lewyn's  bright  little  flutter  of  talk  and 
Cyp's  eager  criticisms  and  comments  upon  her 
work. 


THE  BATTLE  BEGUN.  IOI 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    BATTLE    BEGUN. 

BUT  that  paper,  with  those  last  few  words 
upon  it,  Wynt  found  constantly  in  his  mind. 
What  could  the  doctor  have  meant  by  the  hesi- 
tation he  seemed  to  show?  Certainly  the  words 
were  plain  enough.  Would  any  one  dare  go 
against  them  because  they  were  so  hurried,  with 
that  last  little  bit  of  strength?  He  would  speak 
to  Mr.  Wilkie.  That  was,  of  course,  the  thing  to 
do;  he  would  have  known  that  without  Dr.  Mc- 
Pherson's  help. 

Mr.  Wilkie  did  not  keep  him  waiting  for  the 
opportunity  long.  He  brought  his  buggy  and 
insisted  on  Wynt's  driving  him  a  little  way.  He 
talked  on  indifferent  subjects  for  a  time,  and 
Wynt  hesitated.  Would  Mr.  Wilkie  think  he  was 
pressing  the  matter  forward  in  undue  haste  if  he 
spoke  of  it  now  ? 

But  Mr.  Wilkie  in  another  moment  had  quietly 
opened  the  subject  himself.  "Wynt,"  he  said, 
"  McPherson  tells  me  that  your  uncle's  last  words 
were  spoken — or  written — to  you.  You  must 
take  great  satisfaction  in  that  fact  And  almost 
the  last  words  he  spoke  to  me  in  the  office,  before  I 


iO2  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

was  ill,  were  about  you,  you  and  Cyp.  His  heart 
seemed  very  much  set  upon  you  and  upon  your 
welfare  in  the  future.  Now  as  to  this  paper  that 
the  doctor  tells  me  of.  Does  it  refer  to  any  of 
his  affairs?  Is  it  anything  you  are  willing  to 
show  to  me?" 

"  More  than  willing.  I  have  been  wishing  to 
show  it  to  you  all  this  time." 

"  Have  you  it  with  you  ?" 

"No;  but  I  can  repeat  it  to  you,  word  for 
word."  And  he  did  so. 

Mr.  Wilkie  listened  attentively  and  with  a 
face  from  which  Wynt  could  make  nothing  at  all. 
"  Ah  !"  he  said  merely,  and  drove  on  for  a  mo- 
ment silently. 

"Now,  Wynt,"  he  began,  turning  for  an  in- 
stant to  fasten  a  curtain  of  the  buggy  and  then 
seeming  to  bring  his  attention  back  again,  uthat 
will  I  suppose  to  be  one  of  which  he  spoke  to  me 
not  long  since.  It  is  in  his  safe  at  the  office, 
where  he  once  showed  it  me,  and  where  I  found 
it  again  on  looking  for  it  yesterday.  Ordinarily 
it  should  have  been  opened  before  this  time,  but  I 
feel  that,  if  you  do  not  object,  I  should  like  to  have 
it  wait  until  Mrs.  Adriance  returns.  There  seems 
no  one  else,  unless  Mr.  L,ewyn  Havisham,  to  raise 
any  objection,  and  I  do  not  think  he  will." 

"I?"  asked  Wynt  in  surprise.  "Why  should  I 
object  ?  It  is  not  a  thing  I  have  anything  to  do 
with,  I  suppose."  . 


THE   BATTLE   BEGUN.  103 

Mr.  Wilkie  was  silent  a  moment.  "Well, 
probably  as  a  minor  you  have  not  But  when  we 
do  open  the  will,  what  are  we  going  to  do  ?  If 
no  later  one  should  be  found,  which  I  cannot 
think  possible,  this  is  the  '  last  will '  to  which 
your  uncle  referred.  There  it  is,  signed,  sealed, 
and  witnessed,  as  I  do  not  doubt  Now  do  you 
think  the  Judge  of  Probate  would  feel  that  he 
could  set  this  aside  in  consideration  of  these  few 
words,  unsigned  and  incomplete  ?' ' 

uWhy  not?"  asked  Wynt,  turning  towards 
Mr.  Wilkie  with  a  show  of  excitement  most  un- 
usual for  him.  "Those  few  words  were  my 
uncle's  will,  that  he  almost  seemed  to  stay  a  mo- 
ment longer  to  write.  No  one  shall  ever  go 
against  them  if  I  have  any  power  to  resist" 

If  the  judge  could  have  stayed  another  mo- 
ment and  signed  them  in  time  for  witnesses!  Mr. 
Wilkie  thought. 

"The  boy  seems  to  have  a  good  deal  of  fight 
in  him,"  he  went  on  to  himself;  "but  does  he 
know  whose  interest  he  is  fighting  against  ?  The 
will  at  the  office  undoubtedly  provides  for  him 
and  for  Cyp.  If  it  were  set  aside,  no  substitute 
being  made,  Vivian,  as  the  only  direct  heir,  in- 
herits everything.  I  '11  do  some  hard  fighting 
myself  before  I  '11  allow  that  or  believe  the  judge 
meant  it,  either.  He  must  have  been  out  of  his 
mind." 

"Wynt,"  he  began  quietly,  "I  have  my  own 


io4  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

reasons  for  thinking  your  uncle  did  not  make 
himself  quite  clear.  He  had  told  the  doctor  be- 
fore that  he  wanted  to  '  make  some  changes '  with 
regard  to  his  will.  Probably  they  were  slight 
ones;  while  in  his  haste,  and  with  his  mind  cloud- 
ing rapidly,  he  did  not  express  himself  exactly  as 
he  would." 

"His  mind  was  as  clear  as  mine  is  at  this 
moment!  If  you  could  have  seen  his  eyes  you 
would  know." 

"  Very  well,  Wynt.  Probably  you  are  right. 
But  I  think  the  matter  had  better  rest  until  Mrs. 
Adriance's  return." 

"Mr.  Wilkie,"  and  Wynt  was  turning  to  him 
now  with  his  own  quiet  look,  "if  it  can  possibly 
be  arranged,  I  would  rather  Mrs.  Adriance  did 
not  find  me — Cyp  and  me — in  the  house  when 
she  returns." 

It  was  Mr.  Wilkie' s  turn  now  to  start  "What 
do  you  say?  What  is  it  about  not  being  in  the 
house?" 

"  I  say  I  would  rather  not  I  do  not  think  it 
was  agreeable  to  her  to  find  us  there  when  it  was 
my  uncle's.  It  is  hers  now,  I  suppose." 

The  answer  to  this  was  a  slow,  long-drawn 
"Whew!"  from  Mr.  Wilkie.  "You  are  not 
speaking  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  Wynt? 
You  must  be.  A  mere  passing  idea;  put  it  out 
of  your  head." 

Wynt    colored,    but   answered   quietly,    "It 


THE   BATTLE   BEGUN.  105 

would  be  a  pretty  slow  'spur,'  Mr.  Wilkie,  that 
it  took  her  two  last  visits  to  plant.  And  it  has 
gone  too  deep  now  for  'putting  it  out.'  I  don't 
know  to  whom  I  am  responsible  now,  but  I  sup- 
pose it  is  some  one;  and  whoever  it  is,  I  wish  he 
would  allow  me  to  go.  I  wish  it  were  you,  Mr. 
Wilkie.  Can  it  not  be  you  ?" 

"Since  you  ask  me,  Wynt,  Judge  Havisham 
told  me  he  wished  I  would  take  the  guardianship, 
though  it  is  hardly  arranged  yet" 

"Then  I  will  ask  you." 

"And  then  I  shall  have  to  say  no.  You  do  n't 
want  to  do  anything,  Wynt,  that  would  open 
family  secrets,  by  even  a  hint,  to  the  eyes  of  the 
world  outside.  I  am  sorry  you've  got  this  feel- 
ing, and  I  hope  it  is  a  mistake.  I'll  have  a  talk 
with  you  about  it  soon.  But  whatever  the  fact 
may  be,  you  had  better  put  pride  in  your  pocket 
a  few  weeks  than  let  strangers  pick  up  crumbs 
at  the  door.  And  now  we  have  talked  business 
enough  for  one  day.  Let  us  turn  round  here  by 
the  cascade  and  enjoy  ourselves. ' ' 

The  subject  was  dropped  instantly,  but  long 
after  Mr.  Wilkie  reached  home  he  found  his  mind 
recurring  to  it  and  trying  to  make  one  point  or 
another  form  a  clew  to  the  real  meaning  of  the 
judge's  unsigned  words. 

"  If  the  boy  is  right,"  he  went  on,  "and  he 's 
got  a  pretty  level  head  of  his  own,  if  he 's  right, 
and  Vivian  doesn't  want  them  in  the  house,  she 


io6  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

doesn't  want  them  in  the  business  anywhere,  I'll 
take  my  risk.  Now  that  'promise'  that  he  was 
trying,  to  write  about  may  have  been  a  promise 
that  he  wanted  made  to  him,  or  it  may  have 
meant  a  promise  he  had  made  some  one  else. 
That  will  provides  for  the  boys.  If  she  doesn't 
want  them  provided  for  or  doesn't  like  the  way 
in  which  it  is  done,  she  may  have  got  a  promise 
out  of  her  father  that  he  would  make  a  change. 
A  promise  was  a  sacred  thing  with  the  judge. 
He  would  keep  it  if  it  took  his  last  breath,  as  this 
almost  seemed  to  do." 

Mr.  Wilkie  walked  back  and  forth  in  his 
room,  sat  down,  tried  to  do  some  work,  and  then 
rose  and  walked  about  again. 

"I'm  half  inclined  to  think  I've  hit  it,"  he 
began  once  more.  "It  seems  rather  a  hard  con- 
clusion for  Vivian;  but  the  truth  is,  I  never  did 
feel  quite  sure  of  her.  There  is  a  velvet  touch 
that  has  something  sharp  behind  it;  and  I  don't 
believe  there's  much  heart  under  that  beauty  of 
hers.  Well,  we've  just  got  to  wait  for  her  lady- 
ship to  appear.  But  if  she  undertakes  to  fight 
these  boys,  she  '11  find  she 's  got  me  to  tackle,  at 
least" 


VIVIAN'S  RETURN.  107 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

VIVIAN'S   RETURN. 

THE  most  impatiently  waited  for  come  at 
last,  and  the  carriage  was  ordered  to  meet  Vivian 
at  the  train  before  another  ten  days  had  passed. 
Wynt  put  Waite  and  Cyp  on  the  front  seat  and 
got  in  behind  them  himself.  His  face  was  still 
and  no  one  could  have  read  anything  but  a  little 
overstraining  of  his  usual  quiet  in  it,  but  it  was 
only  by  the  greatest  tension  of  self-control  that  he 
kept  his  composure. 

It  seemed  to  him,  at  one  moment,  that  his 
heart  had  turned  to  stone  with  the  dead,  dazing 
weight  that  settled  there,  and  at  the  next  that  he 
should  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  rather  than  do 
this  thing  that  he  had  to  do. 

So  few  weeks  ago,  such  a  few  short  weeks, 
and  clear  as  yesterday  stood  that  day  when  he 
had  driven  his  uncle  to  meet  Vivian  just  every 
inch  of  the  same  ground  that  was  to  be  gone  over 
again.  How  radiant  his  uncle's  face  was,  that 
handsome,  manly  face! 

They  waited  a  few  moments  for  the  train. 
Would  it  never  come  and  get  this  thing  over 
with? 

Yes,  there  was  the  shriek  of  the  whistle.     It 


io8  JUDGE  HA  vis  HAM'S  WILL. 

was  coming  now,  thundering  in  over  the  track. 
There  was  the  drawing-room  car,  and  there — yes, 
it  must  be — could  it  be — that  tall  figure  swathed 
in  black,  could  that  be  Vivian  ? 

Yes,  and  she  had  recognized  him.  Mr.  Adri- 
ance  was  behind  her,  and  she  was  holding  out 
her  hand  to  Wynt  with  that  same  peculiar  grace. 
He  would  have  known  her  in  India  if  he  had 
seen  her  hold  out  that  hand! 

Then,  to  his  amazement,  she — what  was  she 
doing?  She  had  stooped  and  kissed  him.  She 
had  never  done  that  to  any  one  but  Cyp  before. 

"My  dear  Wynt !"  was  all  she  said;  and  then 
Mr.  Adriance  gave  him  a  quick  grasp,  and  they 
got  out  of  the  crowd  as  hastily  as  possible  and 
found  Waite  holding  the  carriage-door. 

The  drive  to  the  house  was  alike  to  all  of 
them,  inasmuch  as  there  was  the  same  crowd  of 
memories  rushing  in  and  the  same  covered  effort 
to  avoid  speaking  of  what  was  uppermost  in  their 
thoughts.  Beyond  or  beneath  that  one  subject 
there  was  room  for  each  to  have  a  little  wonder- 
ment that  they  kept  instinctively  to  themselves; 
and  Wynt,  while  asking  with  real  interest  the 
ordinary  questions  about  the  voyage,  had  time  to 
read  some  changes  in  his  cousin's  face. 

It  was  brilliant  still;  it  could  not  help  being 
that  But  the  vivacity  was  gone;  it  was  quiet 
and  shaded ;  was  it  really  sorrowful  ? 

The  next  moment  he  was  abusing  himself  for 


VIVIAN'S  RETURN. 

having  asked  the  question.  Certainly  it  was. 
Vivian  had  lost  what  had  been  everything  to  her 
from  the  time  she  had  been  of  Cyp's  age  until, 
at  least,  two  years  ago. 

But  there  was  another  look  that  he  was  sure 
he  did  not  mistake.  As  if  Vivian's  home-coming 
were  as  much  because  of  a  new  life  to  be  entered 
upon  as  lest  it  should  not  look  well  to  the  world 
if  she  stayed  away.  And  of  course  it  must  be  so. 
As  Judge  Havisham's  heir  it  must  be.  There 
was  nothing  for  Wynt,  or  any  one  else,  to  criti- 
cise in  that 

And  just  for  one  flash  he  caught  a  look  fixed 
upon  himself  that  he  was  sure  he  did  not  mis- 
take. Only  one  flash,  that  betrayed  for  half  an 
instant  the  wondering  whether —  and  then  it  was 
gone  without  really  finishing  itself.  It  was  not 
often  that  Vivian  let  her  graceful  external  veil 
slip  away  as  far  as  that 

"Yes,  Wynt,"  she  was  saying,  uwe  were  so 
very  glad  to  get  in  yesterday.  It  looked  at  one 
time  as  if  we  should  not,  and  another  day's  delay 
would  have  been  so  very  trying.  We  were  just 
able  to  get  the  early  train  to-day.  Tom  dear, 
suppose  you  bring  Cyp  over  here  with  us.  We 
have  more  room,  I  am  sure." 

''I  did  not  feel  like  driving  to-day,"  said 
Wynt  hurriedly,  feeling  that  the  carriage  was  too 
full  with  Waite;  and  the  next  moment  he  would 
have  given  anything  if  he  had  not  said  it 


no  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

But  what  else  could  he  have  done  ?  It  would 
have  been  worse  to  say  he  did  not  like  to  leave 
Cyp  at  home  alone. 

"  Oh,  but  I  want  him  with  us,"  answered 
Vivian.  "Tom,  don't  you  think  he  has  grown 
since  we  went  away  ?' ' 

Mr.  Adriance,  meanwhile,  had  been  having 
his  own  thoughts  about  the  boys.]  "If  any 
one  were  to  ask  me,"  he  said  to  himself,  as  he 
gave  Cyp  a  lift  and  put  him  at  Vivian's  side; 
"if  any  one  were  to  ask  me,  I  should  say  these 
two  youngsters  were  the  best  inheritance  out  of 
the  whole  thing.  They  belong  to  us  now,  I  sup- 
pose." 

Bent  met  them  at  the^door,  and  Barbie  stood 
behind.  Bent's  face  might  have  been  a  study 
again,  if  any  one  had  looked  closely  into  it.  The 
first  time  he  had  ever  opened  the  door  to  receive 
his  young  mistress  when  "Mr.  Thorpe"  had] not 
brought  her  in !  And  the  first  time  he  had  ever 
done  it  with  any  feeling  which  he  wished  to  keep 
out  of  sight ! 

That  last  visit,  two  months  ago,  had  left  recol- 
lections that  were  like  thorns  in  the  old  butler's 
heart  just  now.  One  among  them  was  of  the 
troubled  look  on  the  judge's  face;  and  another 
was  of  those  few  words  about  the  "promise"  that 
he  had  so  unwillingly  caught 

"I  think  two  things,  Mab,"  he  had  said  more 
than  once,  as  they  sat  together  in  the  summer 


VIVIAN'S   RETURN.  Ill 

.wilight,  sometimes  silently  thinking  of  the  great 
grief,  sometimes  talking  it  over  and  over,  for 
what  relief  that  could  bring;  "  I  think  two 
things;  may  the  Lord  pity  us  more  that  they're 
true!  I  think  part  of  the  trouble  that  has  come 
to  the  old  house  need  not  have  come;  and  I  think 
we  shall  see  more  of  it  before  it's  all  past" 

But  Vivian  only  lifted  her  eyes  for  an  instant 
to  Bent's  face  and  to  Barbie's,  passing  from  one 
to  the  other  with  a  kindly  greeting. 

u  This  has  been  very  hard  for  you  all,"  she 
said.  "Are  you  pretty  well,  Bent?  Barbie,  are 
you  pretty  well?" 

Then  she  turned  to  go  into  the  library,  but 
she  faltered  suddenly.  u  Wynt !"  she  exclaimed, 
turning  swiftly  towards  him  with  a  little  gesture, 
"is  it  true?  Are  all  the  rooms  quite  empty? 

0  Tom,  how  can  I  go  in  there  ?" 

u  Come  to  your  own  room  then,  will  you  not? 
It  will  be  easier  for  you  there,  and  you  need  rest 
before  dinner  comes  on." 

"No,  I  think —  wait  for  me  a  moment,  then. 

1  must  come  in  here  first" 

She  stepped  in  and  passed  slowly  through  the 
room,  then  out  to  the  little  nook  in  the  piazza, 
then  back  to  the  door  of  the  judge's  private  study, 
drawing  the  curtain  back  a  little  way  and  glan- 
cing in. 

Then  she  turned  to  her  husband  again.  "  Oh, 
take  me  away,  Tom !  I  will  go  up  now.  These 


112  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

rooms  are  desolate.     Wynt,  you  wont  mind  if  I 
go  up  a  little  while?" 

"I  must  go  out,"  said  Wynt;  "I  promised 
Mr.  Wilkie  to  let  him  know  when  you  arrived. 
I  will  take  Cyp  down  there,  and  be  back  before 
dinner  comes  in." 


WHO  SHALL  BE  RIGHT?  113 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

WHO  SHALL  BE  RIGHT? 

MR.  WILKIE  had  not  recurred,  as  he  had 
promised,  to  the  question  of  Wynt's  leaving  the 
house. 

"It  will  have  to  come  up,"  he  said  to  him- 
self, "for  he's  a  youngster  that  knows  his  own 
mind  and  is  not  apt  to  alter  it  But  I  think 
I  '11  put  him  off  till  Mrs.  Adriance  gets  fairly 
home.  With  this  great  change  in  circumstan- 
ces, any  little  manner  of  hers  that  has  troubled 
him  will  very  likely  change  also.  Trouble  is  apt 
to  draw  people  together,  and  I  hope  she'll  take 
to  petting  the  boys  and  make  Wynt  all  right 
again." 

But  he  saw,  the  moment  Wynt  came  in,  that 
there  was  not  much  encouragement  as  yet  The 
quiet  reserve  in  his  manner  as  he  spoke  of  "  Mrs. 
Adriance"  did  not  look  as  if  much  ice  had  been 
melted  yet 

"  So  she  has  arrived,"  he  said.  "  I  am  very 
glad  of  that;  it  is  better  to  get  things  settled. 
Then,  Wynt,  I  will  come  up  to-morrow.  It  is 
late  to-night,  of  course;  I  will  come  to-morrow 
morning  and  bring  the  will.  Will  you  be  kind 
enough  to  tell  her  that  her  father  left  some  mat- 

Jndf«  BcTtobun'i  WllL  8 


114  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

ters  in  my  charge,  and,  if  convenient,  I  will  see 
her  at  that  time?" 

"I  will  tell  her,  certainly." 

"  And  be  there  yourself,  Wynt  Mrs.  Lewyn, 
I  understand,  left  this  morning.  Well,  it's  just 
as  well.  Now  then,  Wynt,  as  to  that  last  paper 
of  your  uncle's;  I  may  as  well  tell  you  frankly 
that,  hard  as  it  may  seem,  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  regard  that  in  settling  the  estate." 

Wynt  colored  violently.  "Do  you  mean  to 
say  that  my  uncle's  will,  his  very  last  wish,  is 
not  to  be  called  his  will?" 

"  We  will  call  it  so,  Wynt,  you  and  I,  in  our 
hearts,  but — have  you  a  little  time  to  spare  ?' ' 

"A  little,  but  I  left  Cyp  with  Lee  Brainerd 
down  below.  I  can't  stay  long." 

"That  will  do.  Those  last  words  of  your 
uncle's,  then,  you  and  I  would  consider  sacredly 
if  we  could.  But  we  cannot  prove,  to  the  law, 
that  they  really  were  his  will.  If  accepted  they 
would  annul  and  set  aside  the  will  now  lying  in 
the  safe,  signed,  sealed,  and  witnessed." 

"Of  course.  That  is  just  what  he  wished 
them  to  do." 

"Apparently.  But,  unfortunately,  the  law 
cannot  accept  any  expression  of  a  testator's  wish 
or  will  that  is  not  signed  by  himself,  and  by  a 
certain  number  of  witnesses  as  well." 

"But  I  know,  and  Barbie  and  the  nurse  know, 
that  he  wrote  it" 


WHO  SHALL  BE   RIGHT?  115 

uDo  they?  Could  they  testify  upon  oath 
that  that  particular  piece  of  paper  is  the  one 
they  saw  him  write  ?  You  can  ;  but  can  they  ? 
How  do  they  know  it  is  not  something  substi- 
tuted for  it?" 

Wynt's  eyes  flashed. 

"They  don't,  Wynt,  and  they  can't.  They 
would  believe  you  against  fire  and  water;  but 
they  can't  testify  to  what  they  only  believe,  and 
that  fact  the  law  has  to  recognize.  Don't  you 
see  that,  in  any  number  of  cases,  an  unsigned 
paper  may  be  presented  by  persons  who  cannot 
be  believed?  The  law  cannot  distinguish  be- 
tween them  and  those  who  can.  It  must  simply 
put  on  the  strongest  guard  legislation  can  invent, 
and  let  things  go  at  that." 

"  And  do  a  bitter  wrong!" 

"  In  very  rare  and  peculiar  cases  it  is  possible; 
but  a  general  law,  I  suppose,  must  take  its  chance 
of  that" 

"But  what  has  the  law  got  to  do  with  it?" 
Wynt  broke  out  excitedly.  "  You  say  you  would 
consider  his  last  expression  of  his  wishes  sacred, 
if  you  could.  They  are  sacred,  and  I  will  never 
consider  them  in  any  other  way.  No  one  can 
have  any  right  to  ask  me  to." 

Mr.  Wilkie  was  silent  a  moment  "Wynt," 
he  said  quietly  then,  "there  is  one  more  point  to 
be  considered.  Suppose  time  to  have  been  suffi- 
cient for  your  uncle  to  have  signed  that  paper, 


n6  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

incoherent  and  incomplete  as  it  was,  and  for  wit- 
nesses, as  was  equally  necessary,  to  have  added 
their  names.  If  any  claimant  were  disposed  to 
contest  it,  do  you  not  see  how  easily  it  might  be 
assumed  that  his  mind  was  weakened  by  the 
approaching  change,  that  it  was  incapable  of 
acting  rationally  and  as  in  health?" 

"It  would  not  be  true.  They  might  say  it, 
but  it  is  not  true.  As  I  told  you  before,  you 
would  know  it  if  you  had  only  been  there.  But 
I  understand  all  you  say.  I  see  that  if  the  will 
he  did  not  wish  carried  out  gives  everything  to 
his  worst  enemy  or  to  his  best  friend,  I  cannot 
help  it.  But  I  will  never  agree  to  it.  I  loved 
him  too  much,  and  he  trusted  me  too  much,  to 
do  such  a  wrong  ;  for  a  wrong  is  a  wrong  always, 
and  always  will  be,  whatever  the  law  may  say. 
And  he  taught  me,  and  his  whole  life  taught  me, 
and  my  Lord's  life  taught  me,  to  hate  a  wrong. 
How  can  you  expect  me  to  do  such  a  thing  as 
that?" 

Mr.  Wilkie  met  his  eyes  with  another  little 
inward  exclamation.  u  Upon  my  word,  I  did  n't 
know  the  boy  would  hold  quite  so  hard.  He  's 
got  the  Havisham  stuff  of  two  or  three  genera- 
tions in  him.  I'd  like  to  try  touching  him  on 
just  one  point,  though.  I  don't  believe  he'll 
stir,  but  he  '11  be  one  out  of  a  big  host  if  he 
wont." 

"I  think  you  are  hardly   'expected  to  do' 


WHO  SHALL  BE   RIGHT?  117 

anything  in  the  case,  Wynt,"  he  said  quietly, 
but  watching  him  keenly  as  he  spoke.  "  The 
matter  will  settle  itself,  in  spite  of  any  objection 
or  regret  on  your  part  or  mine.  And  it  may  be 
better  for  you  that  it  is  so.  To  set  the  will 
aside  would  give  Vivian  everything,  as  she  is  the 
only  direct  heir.  But  carried  out,  it  may  make 
generous  provision  for  you  and  Cyp." 

"We  would  never  accept  it!"  cried  Wynt, 
springing  up.  "  What  do  you  think  of  us,  Mr, 
Wilkie  ?  If  the  will  does  make  such  provision, 
that 's  undoubtedly  the  very  point  he  wanted 
changed.  Else  why  should  he  have  sent  for  me? 
He  sent  for  me,  you  know.  It  was  I  that  he  tried 
to  tell.  He  would  have  explained  it  if  he  could 
have  gone  on.  But  I  am  glad  it  is  to  be  all  done 
with  to-morrow,  and  then  I  hope  you  wont  object 
to  our  going  away  very  soon." 

"And  where  would  you  go,  Wynt?" 

"I  don't  know.  It  will  have  to  be  some- 
where where  I  can  go  to  work,  as  it  would  have 
been  if  I  had  never  come  here  at  all.  We  are 
not  beggars.  There  is  something  belonging  to 
us,  I  believe;  but  I  know  it  will  take  work 
besides  to  keep  us  both.  I  will  give  Mrs. 
Adriance  your  message,  Mr.  Wilkie,  and  I  must 
bid  you  good-by  now." 

Mr.  Wilkie  looked  after  him  as  he  closed  the 
door  with  a  very  unreserved  little  "Whew!" 
shaping  his  lips.  "What  am  I  going  to  do  with 


Il8  JUDGE   HAVISHAM'S 

a  boy  like  that  ?"  lie  said.  u  He 's  going  to  have 
a  fortune  thrown  at  him,  undoubtedly,  and  he 
wants  to  throw  it  back  again,  for  an  idea  that 
he 's  got !  If  he  were  sure  of  his  ground  it  would 
be  different,  but  it's  more  than  three-quarters 
surmise  what  the  judge  meant  It 's  worth  all 
the  fortunes  in  the  universe,  though,  a  moral 
backbone  like  that.  I  wish  that  boy  belonged  to 
me.  I  can't  do  anything  with  him,  though,  till 
I'm  fully  appointed  guardian,  and  then  I'll  try 
to  make  him  hear  reason. 

"  It 's  an  unlucky  mess  the  judge  got  us  into, 
though,  trying  to  do  a  thing  too  late.  Why  in 
the  name  of  sense  did  n't  a  man  like  him  alter 
his  will  in  time  if  he  wanted  to  do  it  at  all  ?  It 
wasn't  like  him,  not  like  him  in  the  least.  I 
do  n't  believe  he  had  the  thing  at  heart,  whatever 
it  was,  even  if  he  had  it  in  mind;  and  I  wish  I 
knew  whom  he  made  that  promise  to." 


THE  RIGHT  KEY.  119 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  RIGHT  KEY. 

VIVIAN  was  more  than  willing  to  see  Mr. 
Wilkie,  and  he  felt  that  he  should  be  equally 
glad  to  bring  matters  to  a  conclusion,  so  far  as 
his  own  responsibility  was  concerned.  The  busi- 
ness seemed  a  trifle  awkward,  somehow,  taken 
just  as  things  stood. 

Vivian  met  him,  however,  with  so  much  of 
her  own  peculiar  manner  that  he  was  scarcely 
seated  before  he  found  the  old  fascination  return- 
ing and  shaming  him  for  having  had  even  a  half 
suspicion  that  she  could  do  anything  else  but 
charm. 

"So  extremely  kind  of  you,  Mr.  Wilkie,  to  let 
our  affairs  burden  you  in  any  way,"  she  was  say- 
ing. "But  it  does  not  surprise  me.  So  true  a 
friend  of  dear  papa's  while  he  was  with  us  would 
not  fail  us  now,  I  was  quite  sure." 

And  the  word  "now"  carried  so  much  mean- 
ing as  she  spoke  it,  uttered  hesitatingly,  and  yet 
with  a  half-faltering  dwelling  upon  it  when  it 
came. 

Judge  Havisham's  will  was  short,  and  it  was 
soon  read.  It  made  his  daughter,  Vivian  Havi- 


i2o  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

sham  Adriance,  sole  heiress  of  his  estates,  beyond 
certain  provisions  for  his  two  nephews,  Wynthrop 
and  Cyprian  DeKay  Havisham,  and  p.  few  minor 
legacies  to  the  other  relatives  and  to  old  servants 
of  the  house. 

The  house  was  to  be  maintained  as  at  present, 
and  considered  as  the  home  of  the  two  nephews, 
in  fair  and  equal  share  with  his  daughter  Vivian, 
until  the  younger  of  the  two  should  have  com- 
pleted his  educational  pursuits.  The  expenses  of 
a  college  course  were  to  be  met  from  the  estate,  if 
such  a  course  should  be  chosen  by  either  or  both 
in  preference  to  a  business  career,  and  each  was 
to  receive  at  his  majority  a  sum  to  be  held  in  trust 
until  that  time  by  the  guardian  whom  the  will 
proceeded  to  appoint. 

Short  as  it  was,  and  occupied  as  Mr.  Wilkie 
appeared  to  be  in  reading  it,  he  found  opportunity 
to  catch  some  changes  in  Vivian's  face.  Through 
the  first  few  paragraphs  a  restrained  gleam  of  satis- 
faction, almost  of  triumph,  as  if  something  desired 
and  aimed  at  had  been  successfully  brought  to 
pass;  then,  as  the  provision  for  the  nephews  was 
made  specific,  there  was  for  one  instant  an  un- 
conscious betrayal  of  intense  feeling  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent kind.  It  was  covered  almost  as  quickly 
again,  but  neither  expression  had  been  too  tran- 
sient for  Mr.  Wilkie' s  well-trained  eye. 

"I  believe  I  had  the  right  key  after  all,"  he 
exclaimed  mentally;  but  in  another  instant  he 


THE   RIGHT  KEY.  121 

had  brought  his  mind  again  to  close  holding  of 
the  work  in  hand. 

That  miserable  paper  !  That,  and  the  inevit- 
able discussion  it  would  bring,  must  come  up. 

Wynt  knew  that  it  must,  and  had  stipulated 
that  he  might  disappear  as  soon  as  the  will  was 
read.  He  had  said  all  he  had  to  say  to  Mr.  Wil- 
kie.  He  could  not  endure  hearing  it  all  over  again. 

"Another  paper  has  come  into  my  hands, 
Mrs.  Adriance,  and  one  which  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  present  just  now,  as  it  expresses  a  wish  on  your 
father's  part  to  change,  if  not  to  annul,  the  will 
just  read." 

"To  change  it?  To  annul  it?"  exclaimed 
Vivian,  lifting  her  eyes  to  his  with  a  swift  flash 
and  then  dropping  them  to  the  floor. 

"  Ah  !  You  were  expecting  it,"  was  Mr.  Wil- 
kie's  reply  mentally,  but  he  went  quietly  on  to 
his  account  of  Wynt's  last  interview  with  his 
uncle. 

Vivian's  color  came  and  went  with  a  swiftness 
that  showed  intense  effort  at  self-control;  for  once 
the  graceful  woman  found  it  hard  to  keep  her 
secrets  to  herself;  but  she  looked  at  the  lawyer 
with  only  her  usual  quiet  earnestness  at  last. 

"And  this  paper  that  means  so  much — it  has 
no  signature,  you  say  ?  But  it  was  given  to  dear 
Wynt  ?  Poor  boy,  it  was  hard  for  him,  but  for- 
tunate for  us.  We  hardly  need  a  signature,  if  it 
came  through  Wynt's  hands  direct" 


122  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Mr.  Wilkie  himself  almost  needed  an  instant, 
this  time,  to  disguise  thought.  What  did  a 
speech  like  that  mean  from  a  woman  who  knew 
as  much  as  Vivian  did  of  life  ? 

"We  do  not  need  it  to  satisfy  our  own  cre- 
dence, Mrs.  Adriance,  but  unfortunately,  both  sig- 
nature and  witnesses  being  wanting,  the  will  that 
would  otherwise  be  set  aside  must  stand." 

Once  more  there  was  a  flash  in  Vivian's  eyes. 
u  And  you  call  that  right?  Surely  your  interest 
in  my  cousins,  warm  as  it  is,  would  not  lead  you 
to  call  that  right,  true  to  my  father?  I  cannot 
doubt  it  had  been  his  full  intention  to  replace  the 
will  you  have  read  by  a  new  one.  In  fact  he  in- 
timated such  intention  to  me  before  I  left.  I  sup- 
posed— " 

"You  forget,  Vivian,"  interrupted  Mr.  Adri- 
ance,  "that  in  this  case  Mr.  Wilkie  is  only  at* 
liberty  to  consider  what  Judge  Havisham  had,  or 
had  not,  legally  arranged;  he  is  speaking  of  noth- 
ing farther  than  that" 

"  You  are  quite  right,  Tom.  I  seemed  to  for- 
get for  the  moment.  Papa's  poor  half-expressed 
wish  seems  so  dear." 

"If  it  could  be  allowed  to  govern  us,"  said 
Mr.  Wilkie  quietly,  as  he  took  his  hat  to  leave, 
"it  would  simply  leave  everything  in  your  hands 
and  trust  the  boys  to  you." 

Vivian  hesitated.  "  It  would  have  been  a 
great  satisfaction  to  be  so  trusted,"  she  said. 


THE   RIGHT  KEY.  123 

"And  I  think  it  was  his  wish.  I  think  he  felt  he 
had  made  some  mistakes,  especially  in  regard  to 
keeping  them  so  much  at  home." 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Wilkie  to  himself  as  he 
walked  back  to  his  office,  "I  think  I  have  got 
pretty  nearly  her  whole  secret  out  of  that  charm- 
ing Vivian.  Her  father  'intimated'  to  her,  she 
says;  'promised,'  I  think  she  means;  and  that  is 
the  very  promise  that  unlucky  piece  of  paper  tries 
to  grapple  with.  She  wanted  everything  left, 
4  trusted, '  in  her  hands,  and  she  did  not  want  the 
boys  in  the  house,  and  she  got  a  promise  from 
him  that  it  should  be  so.  That  promise  he  had 
delayed  fulfilling,  and  was  trying  to  do  it  for 
honor's  sake  when  too  late.  The  fact  that  it  was 
too  late  upsets  her  plans. 

"Well,  a  woman  like  that  is  past  my  under- 
standing. Why  can't  she  give  two  such  boys  a 
welcome  in  that  house?  But  she  doesn't  want 
them  there,  that  is  plain.  Wynt  is  right,  and 
upon  my  word,  I  begin  to  feel  with  the  fellow 
when  he  vows  he  wont  stay.  It  makes  me  hot! 
A  mistake  to  keep  boys  at  home,  indeed !  If  they 
were  packed  off  to  boarding-school,  to  be  ruined,  it 
would  leaves  the  house  clear  for  her  gay  visitors, 
of  course,  and  they  'd  be  no  trouble  to  any  one." 


124  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

KEEPING  UP  THE  FIGHT. 

WHEN  Wynt  left  the  room  lie  walked  quietly 
out  of  the  house,  down  the  driveway,  past  the 
fish-pond,  and  past  Mab's  door,  towards  Barbie's, 
on  the  side  of  the  drive. 

Mab  nodded  to  him  as  he  passed  her  window. 
How  bright  and  sweet  her  face  was  !  It  cheered 
him,  and  he  gratefully  answered  the  look  it  gave 
him.  It  seemed  full  of  things  it  would  like  to 
say,  and  he  could  guess  what  some  of  them  were. 
On  the  whole,  he  couldn't  lose  them  all;  and  he 
stepped  back  and  reached  a  hand  in  at  the  win- 
dow. 

Mab  met  it  with  one  of  her  smiles.  "  How 
brave  you  are  looking,  Mr.  Wynt,"  she  said.  "  I 
knew  you  wouldn't  fail.  I  knew  you'd  'hold 
on  tighter  the  harder  things  pull.'  " 

Wynt  looked  at  her  in  surprise.  "Where  did 
you  get  that?"  he  asked. 

u  Oh,  I  heard  of  it  roundabout  from  Mr.  Cyp. 
Did  you  hear  it  too?" 

"Yes,  I  heard  it,  but  I  did  not  think  it  had 
got  as  far  as  this.  As  to  being  brave,  Mab,  I 
don't  know.  I  feel  determined  to-day,  if  you 
call  that  brave." 


KEEPING   UP  THE   FIGHT.  125 

"Of  course  I  do,  if  you  're  determined  on  the 
right,  and  I  'm  sure  you  are." 

Wynt's  eyes  flashed.  "  Yes,  Mab,  it  is  right. 
Mr.  Wilkie  does  not  think  so,  but  he'll  change 
his  mind  some  day.  And  I  can't  determine  on 
the  wrong,  whatever  he  thinks  !" 

Mab  looked  a  little  anxiously  at  him.  Mr. 
Wilkie  was  a  wise  man,  she  thought 

"Well,  Mr.  Wynt,"  she  said,  "I'm  sure 
you're  'holding  on,'  at  least,  or  you'd  never 
keep  up  as  you  do — not  if  you  hadn't  fast  hold 
of  the  Hand  that's  out  of  sight — not  when 
'  things  pull '  as  they  do  now." 

"No,  I  couldn't,  Mab.  Though  sometimes 
it  seems  as  though  I  didn't  know  what  I  think 
or  feel." 

"You  do  all  the  same  though,  Mr.  Wynt," 
said  Mab  hastily,  as  he  turned  to  go.  "It's  no 
wonder  it  seems  so  just  now;  but  it  wont  last. 
You  '11  get  the  Hand  in  yours,  plainer  and  plainer, 
and  then  there's  such  rest;  when  we  once  feel  it 
is  holding  us  and  shaping  out  everything,  we  go 
over  the  worst  places  like  floating;  and  we  can't 
stumble  or  faint,  least  of  all  when  we  know  he 's 
marked  it  all  out  for  us  in  love,  the  path  leading 
to  the  very  best." 

She  nodded  again,  and  he  felt  a  touch  of  her 
bright  little  courage  going  along  with  him  as  he 
went.  "It  is  good  to  speak  to  somebody,  after 
all,"  he  said.  "  I  've  had  no  one  but  Cyp  all  the 

SOUTH 


PRESBV  ,  ER1AN 


i26  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

time;  no  one  that's  known  what  it  all  is,  I  inerai. 
As  for  Bent,  poor  fellow,  it  seems  as  if  he  can't 
speak  uncle's  name.  The  only  time  he  tried  it, 
with  me,  he  gave  out  and  cried  as  if  he  were  no 
other  than  Cyp." 

He  went  over  to  Barbie's  door.  It  was  open 
and  she  was  sitting  just  inside,  framed  by  the 
scarlet  trumpet-vine  that  ran  over  it.  Her  head 
was  erect  and  turbaned  as  always,  but  the  gay 
colored  headkerchief  was  exchanged  for  one  of 
spotless  white,  and  that  Wynt  had  never  seen 
before,  until  these  last  two  weeks,  except  when 
Communion  Sunday  came. 

"  Must  always  wear  white,  the  nearer  we  get 
to  heaven,"  she  had  said  to  Cyp,  when  he  asked 
her  about  it  one  day;  he  was  the  only  person  who 
had  ever  dared  break  her  stately  silence  as  to 
what  it  meant.  And  now  no  one  asked  whether 
it  were  worn  as  mourning  for  "Mr.  Thorpe,"  or 
whether  his  going  had  made  heaven  seem  nearer 
to  Barbie  and  more  real  than  earth. 

Her  hands  were  busy  with  her  knitting,  and 
her  needles  flashed  with  a  swiftness  that  had  al- 
ways seemed  miraculous  to  the  boys;  but  her 
great  brilliant  eyes  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
them  and  everything  else  that  was  near.  They 
were  looking  out  into  the  clear  summer  light 
and  did  not  seem  to  see  even  what  was  there. 
They  saw  Wynt,  though,  the  moment  he  came  in 
sight,  and  Barbie  rose  instantly  and  stood. 


KEEPING  UP  THE   FIGHT.  127 


u  yes  |»  ske  exciaimed  with  a  little  gesture  as 
if  she  would  have  stretched  out  both  hands  to 
him,  "  I  was  sure  the  time  would  come.  I  have  n't 
wondered  that  it  didn't  come  sooner,  but  I  knew 
it  would  come,  when  you  'd  step  into  Barbie's  door 
and  say  she  could  either  comfort  or  help." 

Wynt  smiled  and  sprang  up  the  door-step  in 
his  old  way,  half  wondering  at  himself  as  he  did 
so,  and  feeling  that  it  somehow  came  from  having 
stopped  with  Mab. 

u  You  can  help  me,  Barbie,"  he  said  as  he  sat 
down  on  the  little  porch  bench.  "But  don't 
stand  there  on  ceremony  like  that;  I  sha'  n't  stay 
two  minutes  if  you  do;  and  I  want  to  talk  to 
you.  I  've  needed  some  one  to  talk  to,  I  believe." 

Barbie  looked  at  him,  and  it  seemed  as  if  her 
soul  would  melt  in  her  eyes.  Back  flew  her 
thoughts  to  the  day  when  the  house  had  seemed 
desolate  because  his  young  mother  had  gone  out 
of  it  a  bride;  and  now  here  was  her  boy,  left  to 
carry  its  name,  desolate  and  alone  ! 

"Some  one  to  talk  to?  Yes,  for  even  our 
Lord  needed  that  It's  no  way  for  you  to  be 
living,  Mr.  Wynt,  and  it  wont  last  The  Lord 
knows  too  well  about  young  hearts  like  yours. 
He  says,  'Come  ye  apart  into  the  wilderness,' 
once  in  a  while;  but  he  don't  keep  'em  there 
long;  just  long  enough,  Mr.  Wynt,  to  teach  some 
secret  or  give  some  precious  gift  Then  he'll  be 
leading  you  out  again  richer  than  ever  before." 


128  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

"Richer,  Barbie!  Do  you  think  I  can  be 
'richer'  when  my  uncle  is  gone?'*  And  then  his 
heart  smote  him  for  saying  it  as  soon  as  the  words 
were  formed.  He  felt  so  stripped  and  desolate 
with  that  great,  honored  love  gone  out  of  his  life; 
that  was  why  he  had  said  it  And  yet  did  he  not 
at  the  same  time  feel  that  something  made  him 
richer  too  ? 

A  strange  new  strength  had  come  to  him,  a 
feeling  of  uplifting,  that  he  could  not  understand. 
It  seemed  to  place  him  where  everything  was  new, 
everything  changed.  Life  seemed  so  different — 
emptied,  in  one  sense,  but  also  so  full  of  meaning 
it  had  never  had  before,  so  linked  in  with  the 
other  one  out  of  sight;  such  a  short  step  out  of 
one  into  the  other;  they  could  not  be  far  apart 

And  that  was  not  all.  How  could  he  say  he 
knew  that  the  Elder  Brother  in  his  pity  had  come 
close  to  him  and  made  His  love  and  friendship  so 
strangely  real  ?  And  yet  it  seemed  to  him  that  he 
knew  it 

"  Yes,  I  say  richer,  Mr.  Wynt.  Not  the  way 
those  would  reckon  that  don't  know;  but  He 
knows,  and  you  '11  find  it  out  some  day.  He 's 
got  his  plan  about  it  all,  and  he  don't  mistake. 
He  can  fill  up  cups  as  well  as  empty  them.  And 
don't  I  long  to  see  'em  just  poured  out  on  your 
head !  It  seems  all  the  love  I  have  for  the  whole 
Havisham  House  has  got  to  come  round  to  you 
and  Mr.  Cyp.  How  is  Mr.  Cyp?" 


KEEPING  UP  THE   FIGHT.  129 

"  He 's  well.  Has  n't  he  been  looking  in  here 
to-day  ?" 

Barbie  shook  her  head.  "No,  nor  yester- 
day." 

"I  must  try  and  shake  him  up.  He  sticks 
around  wherever  I  am  too  much  the  last  two 
weeks.  Mr.  Adriance  will  give  him  a  stir  now 
though.  But,  Barbie,  I  want  to  talk  to  you. 
Are  you  willing  I  should  tell  you  something  you 
must  never  tell?" 

Barbie  fixed  her  eyes  upon  him  till  it  seemed 
as  if  they  might  almost  save  him  the  trouble  of 
telling,  and  then  smiled.  ujust  as  much  and  as 
many  as  you  like,  Mr.  Wynt.  Do  you  think 
Havisham  secrets  can  trouble  me?  I've  carried 
'em  here,  full,"  and  she  laid  her  graceful  brown 
hand  across  her  heart,  "  too  many  a  year." 

"Well,  then,  Barbie,  I  don't  think  the  house 
is  the  place  any  longer  for  Cyp  and  me." 

Barbie  looked  at  him  slowly  again  and  gave  a 
stately  nod.  u  Sometimes,  Mr.  Wynt,  the  Hav- 
ishams  tell  me  secrets  that  have  told  themselves 
to  me  before." 

"Did  you  think  that  before,  Bab?  Then 
you'll  be  on  my  side.  But  the  reasons?  You 
cannot  know  those." 

Barbie's  eyes  were  still  fixed  quietly  on  his. 
"There's  too  much  Havisham  blood  in  your 
veins  to  stay  where  there's  no  welcome,  Mr. 
Wynt." 


130  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Wynt  started.  "Oh,  how  could  you  know 
that  ?  I  can  guess,  though.  You  know  us  all  so 
well.  I  wonder  if  Bent  has  found  it  out  too.  But 
I  could  do  it,  Barbie,  and  I  should  have  to,  if  it 
were  right.  But  it 's  not,  more  than  other  things 
they  want  me  to  do.  We  have  read  the  will  to- 
day, Barbie,  a  will  that  he  made  I  don't  know 
when.  We  were  to  stay  there,  Cyp  and  I,  and 
have  something  given  us  besides — a  big  pile,  it 
seems  to  me;  I  don't  know  whether  Vivian  could 
spare  it;  and  the  rest  was  hers.  But  he  changed 
his  mind  about  all  that,  or  some  of  it.  When  you 
called  me,  you  know,  that  is  what  he  was  trying 
to  say.  He  wanted  to  take  it  back.  But  because 
he  hadn't  time  to  do  it  'legally,'  Barbie,  they  are 
not  going  to  listen;  they  say  the  old  way  must 
*  stand.'  It's  all  right  for  them,  of  course,  Mr. 
Wilkie  and  the  rest,  but  it  would  never  be  right 
for  me.  They  cannot  help  it;  I  understand  just 
how  it  is.  But  when  he  called  me  and  took  his 
last  little  bit  of  strength  to  tell  me  he  wanted 
things  changed,  do  you  think  I  can  go  right  on, 
as  far  as  my  part  goes?" 

"No,  Mr.  Wynt,'"  said  Barbie  slowly,  "I 
don't  see  how  you  can.  But  he  did  not  have 
time  to  say  what  he  did  want  you  to  do,  and  he 
surely  had  some  good  wish.  Mr.  Wilkie — " 

"  He  had  time  to  say  what  he  did  not  want," 
interrupted  Wynt  "  How  can  Mr.  Wilkie  make 
wrong  right?  Perhaps  he  would  have  left  Viv- 


KEEPING   UP  THE   FIGHT.  131 

ia:i  to  decide.  Do  you  think  then  we  should 
have  stayed  in  the  house?  Now  listen,  Barbie. 
If  I  go  out  of  the  house,  I  go  to  work.  There  is 
some  money  that  they  say  they  must  keep  for  me 
till  by-and-by,  but  I  will  let  by-and-by  take  care 
of  itself.  If  things  look  different  to  me  when  I 
am  twenty-one,  all  right.  If  they  don't,  I  don't 
see  what  any  one  but  myself  will  have  to  say 
about  it.  So  now,  Barbie,  this  is  what  I  want 
Of  course  I  can't  earn  much,  and  there's  only  a 
very  little  belonging  to  Cyp  and  me.  So  we 
can't  go  and  live  in  state  anywhere,  even  if  we 
wish ;  and  state  would  be  pretty  lonely  off  among 
strangers  too.  We  must  go  where  it  will  cost 
just  what  we  can  afford  to  pay.  I  have  thought 
of  such  a  place,  just  one,  where  I  want  to  go.  Is 
my  thought  another  secret  that  tells  itself  to 
you?" 

It  had  not,  but  it  did  so  in  an  instant  now. 
Barbie's  cottage  was  like  a  bird-box  from  the  out-, 
side;  but  appearances  are  deceitful  sometimes. 
It  was  all  dainty,  tasteful,  and  neat  as  wax;  that 
even  the  outside  might  suggest.  But  there  was 
space  in  it  too,  and  her  own  room  being  below,  a 
really  charming  one  had  always  stood  vacant 
above.  This,  when  the  two  boys  arrived,  Judge 
Havisham  had  fitted  up  suitably,  and  whenever 
there  was  an  overflow  at  the  house  they  were 
slipped  quietly  into  it  for  a  few  days.  A  great' 
frolic  Cyp  considered  it  always,  and  he  counted 


132  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

the  arrivals  eagerly,  if  ever  a  crowd  seemed  im- 
minent. One  more,  two  more,  coming,  and  they 
were  off  to  their  "country  seat,"  as  Cyp  had 
named  it  from  the  first. 

"The  room  is  all  ready  for  you,  Mr.  Wynt," 
Barbie  said. 

Wynt  laughed.  "Oh,  Barbie,  there's  no  use 
in  telling  you  anything.  But  that  makes  me  all 
right;  only,  you  understand,  you  are  to  take  us  to 
board.  It  will  be  a  heap  more  trouble  than  let- 
ting us  shy  up  stairs  for  a  night." 

The  next  thing  was  to  see  Mr.  Wilkie,  and 
Wynt  ran  up  his  stairs  quickly.  He  must  have 
got  back  to  his  office  long  ago. 

Mr.  Wilkie  could  not  tell,  for  a  moment, 
whether  he  was  glad  to  see  him  come  or  not.  u  I 
hate  to  have  a  tussle  with  the  boy,"  he  said  to 
himself;  "but  I  may  as  well  have  it  and  be 
done." 

But  Wynt  did  not  give  him  much  choice  as  to 
delay.  "Can  I  speak  to  you  a  moment  about 
those  things  you  read  to  us  to-day  ?' '  he  said.  ' '  I 
was  not  to  go  to  college  if  I  chose  business  in- 
stead?" 

"No." 

"And  the  money  you  hold  in  trust  till  I  am 
twenty-one?" 

"Yes." 

"Then  those  things  are  disposed  of.  Now  as 
to  staying  in  the  house.  If  the  will  stands,  it  is 


KEEPING   UP  THE   FIGHT.  133 

to  be  considered  as  our  home.  That  does  not 
seem  to  me  to  insist,  necessarily,  upon  our  stay- 
ing in  it.  People  do  not  always  stay  in  their 
houses,  do  they?  I  think  Vivian  has  not" 

Mr.  Wilkie  would  have  liked  to  smile,  but  he 
saw  it  was  better  not  Wynt  was  too  serious. 

"Your  logic  is  pretty  good,  Wynt,"  he  said. 
"You'd  better  come  in  here  with  me  and  study 
law." 

"I  don't  see  that  there  is  any  provision  for 
that.  I  shall  have  to  go  where  I  can  work  things 
out  for  Cyp  and  myself.  Do  you  object  to  this?" 

"I  think  I  do." 

"Then,  may  I  ask,  are  you  yet  appointed  as 
our  guardian?" 

"No;  I  have  waited  till  the  will  should  be 
read." 

"Then  I  shall  go  to  the  Judge  of  Probate  and 
ask  him  to  appoint  some  one  else.  If  my  uncle 
had  changed  his  will  he  might  have  changed 
that  part  of  it  with  the  rest." 

This  time  Mr.  Wilkie  gave  way  entirely.  He 
threw  himself  back  in  his  chair  and  laughed  heart- 
ily. "Wynt,  my  boy,"  he  said,  "look  out  for 
yourself.  You  may  get  some  one  worse  than  I, 
by  a  long  shot  Better  stick  to  an  old  friend,  and 
I'll  do  all  I  can  for  you.  But  if  you  go  out, 
where  are  you  going?  What  are  you  going 
to  do?" 

"I'm  going  to  work,  and  I'm  going  to  the 


134  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

room  my  uncle  furnished  for  us  in  the  cottage  by 
the  gate.     Barbie  will  look  out  for  us  there." 

Mr.  Wilkie  gave  a  long  slow  whistle.  "See 
here,  WynL  As  nearly  as  we  can  guess  at  it, 
your  uncle's  last  wish  was  to  put  everything  into 
Vivian's  hands,  trusting  her  to  provide  for  you. 
With  your  view  of  things,  why  don't  you  let  her 
do  it?  Why  do  you  want  to  go  to  work  ?" 

1  (  Do  you  suppose  she  would  do  it,  when  you 
take  away  from  the  estate  all  that  money  you  are 
going  to  keep  for  us?" 

Mr.  Wilkie  could  not  help  smiling  again. 
"I  '11  make  a  special  pleader  of  you  yet,  Wynt," 
he  said.  uBut  take  yourself  off  now,  and  give 
me  a  little  time  to  sum  up.  Don't  go  to  the 
Judge  of  Probate  and  repudiate  me  for  a  day  or 
so,  and  I  '11  make  up  my  mind.  Remember,  as  I 
told  you,  haste  does  not  look  well  in  these  things. 
You  will  not  suffer  by  waiting  that  length  of 
time.  And  some  one  has  got  to  settle  the  matter 
with  Vivian,  recollect.  You  'd  better  be  think- 
ing what  you  '11  say  to  her." 

When  Wynt  had  gone  Mr.  Wilkie  tried  to 
give  his  attention  to  other  matters;  but  it  seemed 
difficult,  and  he  pushed  his  papers  away  at  last 
and  began  to  pace  the  office  with  rather  a  quick 
step. 

"Upon  my  word,"  he  thought,  "  the  judge  has 
put  me  in  an  awkward  sort  of  place.  I  don't 
know  what  to  do  with  the  boy.  If  it  were  a 


KEEPING   UP  THE   FIGHT.  135 

mere  stickling  about  a  question  of  'right'  that 
his  conscience  seems  to  have  taken  up,  I  should 
tell  him  that  the  only  'right'  for  him  at  present 
was  to  yield  to  his  guardian  till  he  should  become 
of  age. 

"  But  that  does  n't  seem  to  be  the  whole  of  it. 
If  I  keep  him  there,  I'm  afraid  it  will  be  torture 
to  a  high-spirited  fellow  like  him.  Things 
wouldn't  be  very  pleasant;  they  couldn't  be. 
And  if  Vivian  just  turned  about  and  took  herself 
off  nine-tenths  of  the  year,  as  very  likely  she 
would,  what  kind  of  a  way  would  that  be  for  two 
boys  to  live  ? 

UI  declare  I  don't  see  why,  in  the  name  of 
common  sense,  the  boy  hasn't  got  about  the  right 
of  it.  I'd  rather  he'd  study,  but  he  can't  do 
that  unless  he  carries  out  the  whole  thing.  And 
he  can't  go  off  to  college  and  leave  Cyp  there. 
It 's  about  as  broad  as  it  is  long,  every  way.  I 
don't  wonder  the  judge  wanted  to  alter  that  will. 

"There's  this  about  it;  it  never  hurts  a  boy 
to  go  to  work.  Perhaps  if  I  let  him  try  it  a  year 
or  two  things  will  work  themselves  round  into 
better  shape.  Barbie's  is  the  safest  place  for  the 
youngsters,  if  they  go  out  at  all;  and  if  Vivian 
does  not  like  the  looks  of  a  Havisham  living  at 
the  street  gate,  why,  I  wont  say  I  should  n't  enjoy 
that" 


136  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

IS  THERE  A  CHANCE? 

WYNT  went  down  stairs  and  stopped  before 
Brainerd  and  Gray's,  glancing  in  as  well  as  lie 
could  through  the  closed  door.  Was  Lee  there  ? 
he  wondered.  He  wished  he  could  catch  him  at 
liberty  a  little  while.  He  had  seen  him  but  once 
during  the  last  two  weeks  and  more,  and  then 
Lee  had  been  so  sobered  by  the  shock  of  what 
had  happened,  and  so  full  of  sympathy  that  he 
wished  he  had  courage  to  express,  that  Wynt  did 
not  get  much  idea  of  how  Lee  was  going  on  him- 
self. 

But  he  could  not  forget  the  last  day  he  saw 
him  in  the  store.  The  thought  of  it  had  hung 
about  him  and  worried  him,  even  through  the 
bitterness  and  perplexities  of  his  own  days. 

"Lee  must  have  got  over  all  that  miserable 
nonsense  by  this  time,"  he  thought  "There's 
too  much  stuff  in  him."  But  he  could  not  quite 
persuade  himself  and  felt  anxious  still. 

Yes,  Lee  was  in  sight,  near  the  farther  end  of 
the  store,  and  seemed  to  have  no  customer  in 
hand.  He  was  apparently  putting  things  in  order 
after  some  sales,  but  it  looked  more  like  pushing 
and  kicking  things  about  to  Wynt 


IS  THERE  A  CHANCE?  137 

Wynt  opened  the  door  and  went  in.  Lee  did 
not  see  him  until  he  had  come  quite  near.  Then 
he  started,  and  his  face  flushed  with  first  a  quick 
look  of  welcome  and  then  one  of  embarrassment 
that  almost  covered  the  other. 

He  was  so  glad  to  see  Wynt !  But  what  was 
he  to  say  to  him?  It  seemed  to  him  no  one  had 
ever  had  such  a  terrible  grief  as  Wynt's.  He  had 
stammered  out  a  few  words  about  it  when  they 
met  last.  Was  it  time  now  to  speak  of  it  or  time 
to  let  it  alone  ? 

If  Wynt  read  the  look,  however,  he  ignored 
it,  and  Lee  found  himself  deciding  suddenly  on 
the  u  letting  alone. " 

"How  are  you,  old  fellow?"  Wynt  was  say- 
ing. "I  got  sight  of  you  through  the  door,  and 
I  thought  it  would  do  me  good  to  look  in.  Can't 
you  come  off  for  a  walk  ?" 

"Couldn't  do  it,"  said  Lee.  "That  one  I 
had  with  you  the  other  day  was  extra  luck.  I  'm 
the  only  salesman  in  for  half  an  hour,  and  I  have 
all  this  plaguey  lot  of  carpets  to  roll  up.  There 's 
no  hurry  about  them,  though;"  and  Wynt 
caught  a  peculiar  look,  as  Lee  gave  one  of  them 
a  push  with  his  foot;  "I  don't  interest  myself 
greatly  in  them  this  particular  time,  and  there  '11 
be  nobody  in.  The  day  has  been  dead  dull  all 
the  way  through,  and  it  generally  finishes  as  it 
begins.  Come,  let 's  find  a  seat" 

"All  right,  if  you  say  so.     But  I'd  like  just 


138  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

as  well  to  see  the  carpets  rolled  up.  Or  I  believe 
I'd  like  to  lend  a  hand  myself.  Can't  you  let 
me  try?  I  'd  like  to  see  why  it  is  not  '  interest- 
ing' work." 

Lee's  face  blazed,  but  he  controlled  himself. 
"  Wynt  is  n't  the  fellow  to  fire  your  own  troubles 
at  just  now,"  he  thought;  but  he  made  an  invol- 
untary little  gesture  to  put  Wynt  aside.  "  You 
do  n't  touch  them  !"  he  said.  u  Come ;  here 's  a 
seat." 

They  moved  off  and  chatted  a  few  moments 
about  indifferent  things.  Lee's  face  cleared  a 
good  deal,  but  Wynt,  watching  it  by  glances,  did 
not  feel  satisfied. 

"There's  something  gone  that  used  to  be 
there,  and  something  there  that  I  don't  like, 
though  I  can't  tell  what  it  is.  What's  got  hold 
of  the  fellow  that  he  can't  work  over  by  this 
time?" 

"Now,  Lee,"  he  said  at  last,  fixing  his  eyes 
on  him  with  his  old  quiet  look,  "  tell  me  what 's 
the  matter  with  those  carpets  over  there." 

The  "something"  that  Wynt  did  not  like 
darkened  suddenly  in  Lee's  face;  but  he  turned 
it  full  upon  Wynt. 

"See  here,"  he  said,  "I  think  I  mentioned 
to  you  what  a  pleasant  sort  of  master  Warnock 
here  is  to  take  orders  from.  Not  that  you  know 
what  it  is  to  take  orders  from  anybody,  but  how 
do  you  suppose  I  like  this?  It 's  been  a  dull  day, 


IS  THERE   A  CHANCE?  139 

as  I  told  you;  not  a  thing  to  do,  as  will  happen 
once  in  a  while.  I  could  see  it  troubled  him 
greatly  that  I  wasn't  breaking  my  back,  but  he 
found  enough  to  keep  me  out  of  mischief,  making 
up  errands  and  all  that,  till  an  hour  ago.  I  was 
tired  by  that  time,  and  glad  of  the  chance  to  look 
out  of  the  window  five  minutes  or  so.  But  there 
happened  to  be  a  mirror  pretty  near  it — you  see 
it  over  there — and  I  got  a  view  of  Warnock  that 
he  thought  was  behind  my  back.  He  slipped 
into  the  carpet  section  and  gave  one  roll  after 
another  a  push  with  his  foot  and  sent  them  flying. 
Then  he  stirred  them  up  a  little,  enough  to  look 
as  if  a  customer  had  had  them  while  I  was  out, 
and  then  he  called  me:  'Brainerd!  come  and 
roll  these  carpets  up;'  and  he  sauntered  off  with 
that  horrid  smile  of  his  and  got  his  newspaper. 
He 's  over  there  pretending  to  read  it  yet" 

Wynt  was  on  the  point  of  laughing,  for  the 
story  had  its  droll  side  certainly;  but  he  knew  it 
would  not  do.  "That  was  a  'hard  grind,'  l<ee," 
he  said;  "  but  could  n't  you  pay  him  in  his  own 
coin?  Couldn't  you  smile  back  again  at  him 
and  let  the  thing  laugh  off?" 

11  No,  I  couldn't,"  answered  Lee  fiercely; 
"unless  I  gave  him  a  smile  like  his  own,  with 
ugliness  enough  in  it  to  get  me  knocked  over  for 
insulting  superiors.  And  you  couldn't,  either. 
You  've  got  too  much  soul  in  you  to  knuckle  to 
such  things.  Still,"  he  added,  with  a  bitter  tone 


140  JUDGE  HAVISHAMrS  WILL. 

in  his  laugh,  "I  don't  bother  myself  about  it 
much.  It  can't  last  a  great  while,  and  I  make  it 
up  evenings  while  it  goes." 

"Lee!"  exclaimed  Wynt,  "what  do  you 
mean  ?  You  've  got  off  that  kind  of  talk  before ; 
I  'd  like  to  know  what  there  is  in  it.  I  '11  go  out 
with  you  to-night,  if  you  '11  tell  me  where  you 
go." 

Lee  laughed  again.  "  You  !  You  'd  be  out 
of  your  little  rut  with  the  fellows  that  amuse 
me." 

"Then  you're  out  of  your  little  rut  with 
them.  You  're  just  as  much  of  a  man  and  a  gen- 
tleman as  I  am,  if  you  wont  pretend  to  spoil  your- 
self. We  haven't  hooked  arms  together  two 
years  without  knowing  what  each  other  is  made 
of;  and  we  shouldn't  have  done  it  to  begin  with 
if  we  hadn't  been  of  the  same  stuff." 

"You're  too  good-natured,  Wynt.  But,  you 
see,  we  happened  to  strike  apart,  unluckily,  after 
a  while.  I  came  in  here  and  you  didn't. 
That 's  where  it  is." 

"Well,  why  don't  you  'hold  on  tighter,' 
then,  *  the  harder  things  pull '  ?  Do  you  suppose 
a  fellow  doesn't  get  pulls  wherever  he  is?" 

Lee  hesitated.  Wynt  had  been  getting  terri- 
ble ones,  certainly,  and  how  he  was  "holding 
on"!  But  a  frown  gathered  in  spite  of  himself. 
"You  never  tried  it  here,"  he  repeated,  with  his 
face  half  turned  away.  { '  I  wish  you  would. ' ' 


IS  THERE  A  CHANCE?  141 

The  words  struck  Wynt  with  a  sudden  force. 
"I  will,"  he  answered  quickly;  "that  is  to  say, 
if  lean." 

Lee  was  looking  at  him  squarely  enough  now. 
u  Yes,"  he  answered  after  a  moment,  in  a  sar- 
castic tone,  "I  should  like  an  'if  like  that  in  my 
way." 

"  Would  you  ?  I  think  I  '11  try  to  fight  them 
out  of  mine;  for  there  are  two  of  them,  now  that 
I  recollect." 

11  And  what  may  they  happen  to  be  ?"  asked 
Lee,  still  with  a  skeptical  tone. 

"If  I  can  get  in — perhaps  Brainerd  and  Gray 
don't  want  me — and  if  my  guardian  will  say 
yes." 

Lee  seemed  to  be  struck  dumb.  "  I  wish  you 
would  tell  me  what  you  mean,"  he  exclaimed  at 
last  "  Are  you  '  off  your  base '  to-day  ?" 

' ( I  do  n'  t  think  so, ' '  laughed  WynL  ' '  I  was 
never  more  serious,  at  least.  I  'm  going  to  work 
somewhere  for  Cyp  and  myself,  and  I  'd  like  to 
come  along  with  you.  Is  there  any  chance 
before  too  long,  do  you  think  ?  Is  any  one  likely 
to  abdicate  that  might  resign  to  me?" 

Lee's  eye  seemed  to  run  over  Wynt  from  head 
to  foot.  Wynt  Havisham  ?  The  same  as  a  son, 
every  one  had  supposed,  to  Judge  Havisham  and 
the  Havisham  House !  But  still,  gentlemen's 
sons  went  into  business  often  enough ;  perhaps 
fellows  with  fortunes  might  too. 


142  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

" There  's  the  assistant  book-keeper,"  he 
began  in  a  confused  kind  of  way.  If  this  was  a 
joke  he  couldn't  see  it,  that  was  all. 

"Is  that  what  you're  taking  my  measure 
for?"  laughed  Wynt;  but  he  went  on  eagerly: 
"Book-keeper,  did  you  say?  assistant?  I  could 
do  that,  I'm  sure;  and  I  shouldn't  need  to  be 
ponied  up,  as  I  should  on  goods.  I  suppose  so, 
at  least  What  does  he  have  to  do  ?" 

"Just  the  drudgery,  that's  all.  He's  just 
gone  off;  a  year  older  than  you.  Bills  to  make 
out,  copying,  and  all  that  It's  not  much,  and 
so  Warnock  calls  him  out  when  he  likes  and  fills 
up  the  time — errands  and  disagreeable  odd  jobs, 
you  know.  A  fine  chance,  is  n't  it,  for  a  fellow 
with  a  fortune  and  servants,  like  you?" 

"If  there's  any  fortune  for  me,"  answered 
Wynt  lightly,  "it  doesn't  trouble  me  just  now. 
And  it's  either  fortune  or  work,  you  know;  so  I 
take  the  work.  Do  you  think  there 's  a  chance, 
really,  for  this?" 

Lee's  face  brightened.  To  get  Wynt  into  the 
store  with  him!  A  different  life  it  would  be. 

"Of  course  there  is,"  he  exclaimed  eagerly. 
"  We  '11  strike  for  it  in  a  hurry,  and  they  '11  jump 
at  you;  that  is  to  say,  if  you're  sure,"  and  his 
face  fell  again.  Wynt  Havisham  trapped  in  the 
old  mill!  No,  he'd  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
Much  as  he  needed  Wynt's  preaching,  he  wasn't 
mean  enough  for  that 


IS  THERE   A  CHANCE?  143 

"No,  I'm  not  sure;  there's  the  fact,"  an- 
swered Wynt  without  waiting  for  him;  "but  I 
will  be  as  soon  as  I  can  see  Mr.  Wilkie  again. 
Can  you  keep  the  berth  open  a  day  or  two,  do  you 
think?" 

"  Yes,  I  can  do  that  well  enough.  But,  Wynt, 
I  say,  old  fellow,"  and  Lee  gave  up  and  held  out 
a  hand — u  I  say,"  and  he  gave  Wynt's  a  grip,  "I 
should  think  life  was  worth  having  if  I  got  you 
in  here  with  me." 

"Of  course  it  is.  But  I  've  kept  you  too  long. 
If  I  get  you  into  a  scrape  with  those  carpets  it 
will  be  black  ball  for  me.  So  good-by." 

As  he  passed  out  he  met  Jem,  handsome  as 
ever,  with  his  large,  manly  physique,  light  hair, 
and  curling  yellow  beard.  But  he  got  the  same 
feeling  that  he  had  in  being  with  Lee.  The 
frank,  bright  expression  was  gone,  and  there  was 
a  clouded,  almost  lowering,  look  that  did  not 
seem  like  Jem. 

"What's  the  matter  with  everybody  here?" 
he  thought.  "  I  should  n't  like  to  think  Lee  was 
right  about  the  store  being  too  much  for  a  fellow's 
ballast,  if  I  'm  to  try  it  myself." 

Jem  touched  his  hat  as  they  met;  he  could 
not  well  help  doing  that;  but  he  gave  him  no  far- 
ther recognition  beyond  barely  raising  his  eyes. 
He  dropped  them  again  instantly,  however,  and 
stood  silent  to  let  him  pass. 

Wynt  glanced  at  him  curiously,  and  then  stood 


144  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

still  also.  "  Halloa  !  how  are  you,  Jem  ?  Aren't 
you  going  to  speak  to  me,  as  good  friends  as  we 
were  when  you  worked  on  the  place?"  and  he 
held  out  his  hand. 

Jem  took  it  awkwardly;  his  face  brightened, 
and  a  look  of  sympathy  came  into  it  too.  No  one 
spoke  to  Wynt  in  these  days  without  that. 

"  Where  do  you  keep  yourself,  Sundays  and 
all  ?  I  never  see  you  on  the  grounds  lately.  I 
suppose  you  're  at  the  cottage  often  enough  even- 
ings, though." 

Jem  darkened  instantly.  "I'm  not  at  the 
cottage  evenings  nor  other  times  any  more,"  he 
said  stolidly. 

"Not  at  the  cottage?  Why,  what  ^re  you 
talking  about?  Mab  never  steps  out  of  it,  cer- 
tainly." 

UI  don't  look  for  Mab  here  nor  there,"  he 
said.  "  She's  throwed  me  over,  and  she  can  go 
where  she  likes." 

"Now,  Jem  Dent,  you  needn't  tell  me  that. 
Do  you  think  I  don't  know  what  Mab  is  as  well 
as  you?  Come  along,"  and  he  caught  Jem  by 
the  buttonhole  and  pulled  him  round  the  corner 
of  the  store  a  little  out  of  the  way;  "come  along 
and  tell  me  what  you  did  to  Mab  first." 

Jem  hesitated  a  moment  and  then  met  Wynt's 
eyes  fair  and  square,  as  if  he  were  glad  to  free  his 
mind  at  last.  "I  asked  her  to  say  if  she  would 
do  as  other  girls  do  when  they've  promised — if 


IS  THERE  A  CHANCE?  -  tj 

she'd  inarry  ine  and  leave  putting  me  off,  for  I 
was  tired  of  it" 

"And  what  did  she  say?" 

"  She  said  she  'd  not  do  it  with  things  as  they 
were,  and  she  saw  no  prospect  of  change." 

"And  what  then?  You  don't  call  that 
throwing  you  over,'  I  suppose?" 

"She  said  she  'd  have  no  one  about  that  was 
tired  of  it,  and  I  was  to  go." 

"And  you  went?" 

Jem  looked  wonderingly  at  him.  "What 
could  I  do  but  go?" 

"What  could  you  do?  Why,  stick  to  her, 
man.  Get  down  and  beg  her  pardon  first,  and 
then  stick.  What's  there  such  a  hurry  about? 
There 's  a  whole  life  ahead  of  you  yet.  Mab  will 
get  well  some  day;  or  if  she  ever  finds  out  she  '11 
not,  why  should  n't  you  be  friends  at  least?  I  'm 
ashamed  of  you,  Jem.  There  isn't  a  girl  in  the 
country  like  her,  nor  one  that's  got  a  harder  lot 
What  do  you  want  to  go  piling  more  on  top  of  it 
for?" 

Jem  looked  down  half  sullenly,  but  something 
evidently  pleased  him  at  the  same  time.  "I 
don't  see  that  I  'm  piling  anything  on,"  he  said. 

"  You  do  n't?  You  think  it 's  nothing  to  Mab 
to  lose  what  she  cares  most  for  out  of  a  life  like 
hers?" 

Jem  stood  up  squarely  again.  "  If  I  'd  thought 
she  cared  for  it !  That 's  what  I  could  n't  see." 

trUbMn't  Will.  JQ 


146  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"Then  you  don't  deserve  to  see  it.  Why,  I 
could  see  it  myself.  When  was  this?  About 
two — no,  more  than  three  months  ago.  I  remem- 
ber it  Mab  was  as  white  as  a  swan  for  a  while, 
with  a  still  look  in  her  face  that  she  always  used 
to  have  when  the  pain  was  the  worst;  but  she 
stuck  to  it  that  she  was  no  worse.  And  you've 
made  yourself  miserable.  I  saw  that  too  a  month 
ago.  Come,  brace  up,  Jem.  Knock  yourself  into 
shape  again  and  behave  like  a  man." 


WHAT  IS  THE  MATTER  WITH  THE  WILL?    147 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

WHAT  IS  THE  MATTER  WITH  THE  WILL? 

WHEN  Wyiit  left  Barbie  she  sat  a  few  mo- 
ments motionless,  her  hands  in  her  lap  and  her 
eyes  looking  far  out  into  the  distance  again.  The 
red  trumpet-vine  blossoms,  the  lacing  branches  of 
the  trees  beyond,  the  blue  sky — they  might  as 
well  not  have  been  there. 

"Just  what  I  was  saying  to  little  Mab  not  two 
months  gone  by,"  she  said,  bowing  the  white 
head-handkerchief  as  she  nodded  to  herself.  "I 
said  some  of  the  hardest  troubles  that  ever  the 
old  house  saw  came  of  some  one  not  'holding 
on,'  somewhere,  to  the  right  and  the  true. 
They're  all  by  themselves,  the  Havishams,  all 
by  themselves;  an'  strange — /  call  it  strange — to 
see  them,  the  noblest  and  the  best,  an'  their  souls 
standing  highest  of  all  the  families  the  Lord  can 
look  on  for  many  a  mile  around,  an'  then  suddenly, 
somewhere  in  a  generation,  some  one  will  just 
let  go  !  But  I  never  believed  it  could  come  of 
Mr.  Thorpe.  An'  I  can't  believe  it  now;  not  if 
he  was  found  in  his  right  mind.  But  if  it 's  true 
he  let  Miss  Vivian  persuade  him  against  the 
rights  of  Mr.  Wynt  and  Mr.  Cyp,  he  just  has  let 
go,  that 's  all,  right  mind  or  wrong !" 


148  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

Barbie  gave  a  little  moan,  and  the  head-hand- 
kerchief swayed  again. 

"  It 's  bitterer  than  to  see  him  die,"  she  said. 
"We  can  love  him  if  he  stays  or  goes,  but  we 
can't  pride  him  if  he  didn't  hold  to  the  right. 
That  leaves  a  stain  on  high  or  low,  whoever  it 
may  be.  An'  I  loved  him  too  well  to  see  that. 
A  high,  pure  life  like  his,  an'  a  stain  coming  at 
the  very  last !  An'  if  his  old  Barbie  could  wash 
it  with  tears  an'  wipe  it  with  the  hairs  of  her 
head,  it  could  do  no  good."  And  she  swayed 
herself  mournfully  to  and  fro. 

Suddenly  she  raised  her  head,  and  held  it 
proudly  again.  uMr.  Thorpe  was  not  clear  in 
his  mind,  let  who  will  say  contrary !"  she  ex- 
claimed with  vehemence.  "Don't  let  any  one 
bring  up  that  he  was,  to  me !  Not  at  that  last 
poor  little  minute,  at  least.  And  if  wrong  is 
done,  the  Lord  can  turn  it  away  like  a  river, 
before  a  wave  can  even  kiss  the  feet  of  those 
boys,  and  build  up  something  better  for  them 
than  it  takes  away.  Barbie  Havisham  needn't 
trouble  herself  about  business  that  belongs  to 
Him.  Time  enough  to  look  on  at  what  he's 
pleased  to  do  and  to  pride  in  it  when  he  has  it 
done." 

She  took  up  her  knitting  again,  and  her 
thoughts  came  back  to  what  was  close  at  hand. 
She  would  go  to  Mab  and  take  her  some  trurn* 
pet-blossoms.  The  day  was  too  fine  for  sitting 


WHAT  IS  THE  MATTER  WITH  THE  WILL?   149 

inside.  She  liked  to  feel  the  air  round  her  and 
the  ground  under  her  feet 

As  she  moved  slowly  along,  making  the  most 
of  it,  she  glanced  towards  the  Havisham  House. 
It  was  half  hidden  by  the  trees,  but  the  corner 
where  Vivian's  room  lay  was  open  and  free. 
Barbie  always  watched  that  corner;  its  shaded 
windows  gave  it  a  deserted  look  while  Vivian 
was  away,  but  were  flung  gayly  open,  luxuriating 
in  sunlight,  as  soon  as  she  returned. 

They  were  not  so  this  morning,  however. 
Barbie  could  just  see  that  the  room  must  be  oc- 
cupied, and  that  was  all. 

"  Poor  Miss  Vivian  !"  she  thought.  "It's  a 
sad  day  for  her  when  she  doesn't  want  the  sun- 
light pouring  everywhere." 

Barbie  was  right,  but  there  were  other  feelings 
mingled  with  sadness,  this  morning,  that  made 
quiet  rooms  more  in  harmony  with  Vivian's 
frame.  She  had  withdrawn  into  the  one  Barbie 
had  noticed  as  soon  as  Mr.  Wilkie  left,  and  even 
Mr.  Adriance  hesitated  as  to  whether  it  were  best 
to  follow  her  there. 

He  delayed  a  little  while,  and  then  tapped  at 
the  door.  Vivian  was  pacing  the  floor,  her  eyes 
brilliant  and  her  right  hand  playing  nervously 
with  a  jewel  upon  her  left. 

"Tom  !"  she  said  hastily,  "I  ought  never  to 
have  gone  away  until  I  had  seen  papa's  promise 
carried  out" 


150  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"Promise?"  asked  Mr.  Adriance,  settling  into 
an  arm-chair  and  speaking  in  his  easy,  good-na- 
tured way.  "  I  did  not  know  he  made  you  one. 
What  did  you  want  him  to  do?" 

Vivian  hesitated.  There  were  some  surfaces 
beneath  which  she  did  not  care  to  let  even  her 
husband  penetrate,  and  this  one  would  have  held 
its  secret  with  the  others  if  to-day's  strain  had 
come  less  suddenly.  She  was  excited  and  she 
was  perplexed.  She  would  tell  him  what  she 
chose.  Otherwise  he  need  not  have  known  that 
she  did  not  care  to  have  the  boys  in  the  family. 
It  wouldn't  have  been  of  consequence,  of  course. 

"  I  wanted  him  to  do  what  he  tried  to  do  with 
his  last  strength,  cancel  that  foolish  will  and 
leave  everything  in  my  hands.  Papa  must  have 
been  bereft  when  he  made  it !  carried  along  with 
that  sentimental  way  of  his." 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter  with  the  will?" 
asked  Tom,  crossing  a  foot  over  his  knee.  "I 
don't  see  why  it  isn't  well  enough." 

Vivian  stopped  in  her  walk  and  leaned  back 
in  an  easy-chair  of  her  own.  Her  black  dress 
and  flushed  face  contrasted  against  the  blue  vel- 
vet of  the  chair  and  one  white  wrist  drooped 
gracefully  over  its  arm.  Was  it  of  any  use  to  talk 
to  Tom,  after  all,  about  such  things? 

"The  will  is  folly,  Tom.  There  is  no  reason, 
because  papa  loved  a  sister  once,  that  her  boys 
should  overrun  and  occupy  our  house.  They 


WHAT  IS  THE  MATTER  WITH  THE  WILL?   15! 

should  be  taken  care  of  somewhere,  of  course,  if 
that  is  necessary;  but  I  think  they  have  provi- 
sion of  their  own  sufficient  for  reasonable  wants. 
By  this  will  the  establishment  is  to  be  main- 
tained— I  am  to  maintain  it,  I  suppose — as  their 
home." 

"No  more  than  yours,"  interposed  Torn. 

"More  than  mine,  as  it  would  take  mine 
away  from  me.  I  do  not  wish  it  with  an  incum- 
brance  of  that  kind.  Have  you  not  had  percep- 
tion enough  to  understand  that,  you  dear  stupid 
Tom  ?  What  do  you  suppose  kept  me  away  from 
it,  from  dear  papa,  so  much  the  last  two  precious 
years  of  his  life?" 

Tom  uttered  a  prolonged  murmur,  which  grew 
more  emphatic  as  it  progressed.  "  Never  once 
dreamed  of  it,  Vivian  !  Why,  now,  it  seems  to 
me  the  best  plum  in  the  whole  inheritance,  hav- 
ing two  youngsters  like  those  to  brighten  up  a 
place.  You  don't  get  a  chance  to  watch  a  fellow 
like  that  Wynt  grow  up  every  day,  you  may  be 
sure." 

41  And  why  should  I  wish  to  see  him  grow  up  ? 
It  certainly  is  not  among  pleasures  that  I  should 
seek.  If  papa — poor  dear  papa  —  fancied  he 
wished  it,  it  was  a  delicate  matter  for  me  to 
approach,  of  course;  and  I  could  not  wish  him  to 
give  up  his  pleasure  to  make  room  for  mine.  But 
he  came  to  see  it  differently.  He  saw  how  un- 
suitable a  place  it  was  for  them,  especially  when  I 


152  JUDGE   HAVISH AM'S   WILL. 

wished  to  bring  my  own  guests.     A  well-chosen 
school  is  far  better.     I  convinced  him  of  that." 

Tom  was  silent  a  few  moments.  There  were 
times  when  his  felt  that  his  own  sentiments  were 
as  well  kept  to  himself.  "  Well,  I  do  n't  see  but 
you  have  got  them,  at  any  rate,  as  things  stand. 
And  they'll  have  to  stand — the  will,  I  mean. 
There 's  no  getting  round  that" 

A  slightly  scornful  look  curved  Vivian's  lips. 
"We  will  not  try  to  ' get  round '  it,  Tom,  but  we 
can  contest  it.  It  is  not  right.  It  is  a  wrong  to 
dear  papa.  A  hastily  made,  inconsiderate  will,  a 
piece  of  folly  destroying  so  much  happiness,  and 
regretted  and  withdrawn  by  himself.  And  the 
amount  left  in  trust!  You  can  see,  Tom,  he  must 
have  felt  that  a  great  mistake.  Why  should  the 
Havisham  estate  be  shredded  and  scattered  about? 
I  have  heard  papa  say  often  that  there  was  too 
much  of  that  done.  If  there  is  any  way  to  right 
things  and  follow  what  was  his  true  last  will,  I 
am  determined  on  it.  If  there  is  not,  I  have  no 
home  here  any  longer.  We  will  go  abroad 
again." 

Tom  rose  and  took  his  turn  at  walking  about. 

"  Now,  Vivian,"  he  said  at  last,  u  let  me  give 
you  one  piece  of  advice.  Every  one  in  this  town 
knows  what  the  judge's  ways  were,  and  every 
one  knows  those  boys.  They  're  favorites,  as 
they  deserve  to  be,  and  they  have  sympathy 
everywhere.  And  every  one  will  know  what 


WHAT  IS  THE  MATTER  WITH  THE  WILL? '153 

that  will  is  and  that  it  provides  handsomely  for 
them.  I  suppose  you  would  do  the  same,  if  you 
could  change  it,  but  people  are  not  going  to  look 
at  it  in  that  light.  So  turn  your  back  on  the 
house  and  go  elsewhere  if  you  don't  fancy  stay- 
ing in  it  as  it  is,  but  don't  undertake  to  meddle 
with  the  will.  You  'd  make  a  mighty  poor  piece 
of  work  with  it;  there's  nothing  to  go  on,  and 
every  one  would  have  their  opinion  about  it,  what 
is  worse." 

"And  do  you  think  I  have  no  friends?  And 
people's  opinion!  what  is  that?"  and  Vivian 
lifted  her  head  proudly  as  she  spoke. 

"I  think  you  would  have  enemies;  and  I 
think  people's  opinion  is  a  great  deal." 

She  leaned  her  head  upon  her  hand  again  an 
instant.  It  was  a  great  deal  to  Vivian. 

Then  she  looked  up  once  more  with  her  eyes 
full  upon  Tom's  face.  "If  I  can  force  them  to 
carry  out  papa's  last  wishes,  I  will  do  it,  Tom," 
she  said.  "  If  I  cannot — ' ' 

She  did  not  finish  the  sentence;  she  was  not 
accustomed  to  saying  what  she  would  do  if 
thwarted  in  her  own  will,  but  Mr.  Adriance 
understood.  Bent  would  have  to  run  the  house 
as  best  he  might  for  the  boys.  Vivian  would  not 
be  there. 

Tom  did  not  reply,  and  with  some  excuse 
about  exercising  the  horses  got  out  of  the  room. 

"  I  '11  have  a  few  words  with  Wilkie  about  all 


154  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

this  nuisance,"  he  said  inwardly,  as  he  walked 
away.  "The  knot  is  tied  as  tight  as  anything 
can  be,  and  the  only  decent  thing  is  to  let  it 
alone.  As  keen  a  woman  as  Vivian  would  see  it 
in  an  instant  if  she  were  not  upset.  If  any  one 
must  show  her  the  folly  I  'd  rather  it  were  Wilkie 
than  a  man  outside.  I  wonder  where  that  Cyp 
is.  I  must  have  him  off  with  me  for  a  drive.  I 
wish  somebody  would  bequeath  those  two  boys 
to  me!" 


-r 

i 


NO  MORE   HAVISHAM   HOUSE.  155 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

NO  MORE   HAVISHAM   HOUSE. 

MR.  ADRIANCE  lost  little  time  in  carrying 
out  his  intention  of  finding  Mr.  Wilkie,  and  noth- 
ing could  have  been  more  to  Mr.  Wilkie' s  satis- 
faction. 

"  I  'm  very  glad  you  carne  in,  Mr.  Adriance," 
he  said,  as  he  bowed  him  out  at  the  end  of  the 
interview.  "Remember  my  message  to  Mrs. 
Adriance,  if  you  please.  Simply  that  I  have  a 
plan  to  propose  that  I  think  will  relieve  her  of 
einbarassment  about  my  wards." 

"I  will,  thank  you!  It's  a  nuisance,  any 
way.  I  can't  see  why  those  youngsters  shouldn't 
have  their  share  and  welcome.  They're  the 
best  part  of  the  old  place,  by  far,  to  me.  So  I 
hope  your  plan  will  make  them  stick,  somehow." 

"Now,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Wilkie  as  he  heard 
Tom  go  over  the  stairs,  u  I  've  got  at  just  exactly 
the  whole  thing  I  want  Adriance  tried  to  be 
very  cautious,  but  a  free-hearted  fellow  like  him 
can't  cover  up  with  phrases  very  much.  That 
makes  up  my  mind.  I  wouldn't  have  the  boys 
with  a  vixen  like  that,  velvety  as  she  is,  if  she 
begged  for  them.  And  they  can't  stay  in  that 
house  alone  if  she  clears  out,  as  she  says  she  will. 


156  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

I  '11  let  Wynt  fight  it  out  his  own  way.  He  '11  be 
twice  the  man  for  it  He  thinks  it's  his  duty, 
queer  fellow  that  he  is,  and  that'll  keep  him  up 
till  he 's  twenty-one.  If  he  gets  sick  earning  his 
living,  or  I  think  he  'd  better  come  in  here  and 
make  a  lawyer,  I  can  manage  it  well  enough. 
The  first  thing  is  to  get  clear  of  that  fascinating 
cousin  of  his.  I'll  take  back  that  hard  name  I 
called  her;  she 's  not  quite  that.  She  loves  grace 
and  elegance  for  their  own  sake,  but  she  has  no 
heart;  born  without  one,  that's  all.  I'm  glad 
she 's  no  longer  a  Havisham,  and  that  the  judge 
got  the  name  tacked  on  to  Wynt  and  Cyp  three 
months  after  they  came.  And  does  any  one  think 
he  was  going  to  do  that  and  then  leave  them  beg- 
gars for  Vivian  to  feed?  I'll  get  hold  of  Wynt 
before  the  day  is  out  and  send  him  to  make  her  a 
graceful  good-by." 

Wynt  was  more  than  ready,  and  he  tapped  at 
her  door  the  next  morning  with  his  head  erect 

Vivian  was  in  the  same  blue  chair,  her 
hands  playing  languidly  with  the  tassels  upon 
its  arms. 

"Oh,  it's  you,  Wynt  dear,"  she  said,  reach- 
ing out  gracefully  to  take  his  hand.  "How 
charming  to  have  you  come  in.  We  are  very  sad 
and  dull  here,  Tom  and  I.  The  house  is  a  sad 
place.  Tom,  hand  Wynt  a  chair. ' ' 

Wynt  took  it,  let  the  hand  holding  his  cap 
hang  over  the  back  of  it,  and  looked  quietly  into 


NO   MORE    HAVISHAM   HOUSE.  157 

Vivian's  face.  "Vivian,"  he  said,  "do  you 
think  it  is  right  to  put  aside  uncle's  last  words  as 
having  no  weight  at  all?" 

Vivian  started  slightly.  Was  Wynt  broach- 
ing the  subject  ?  Why  should  not  he  be  perfectly 
satisfied  ? 

But  she  concealed  her  surprise  instantly. 
"Why  do  you  ask  me  such  a  thing,  Wynt?'* 
she  said,  as  if  gently  remonstrating.  "These 
painful  questions  are  all  settled  for  us,  don't  you 
know?"  And  she  laid  a  touch  of  her  soft  hand 
upon  his.  Only  a  very  light  touch ;  boys  do  not 
like  too  much  petting,  of  course. 

"I  ask  you  because  I  want  you  to  answer. 
Do  you  think  it  is  right,  whatever  other  people 
may  say?" 

"Then,  Wynt  dear,  since  you  ask  me,  I  do 
not" 

"/think  it  is  a  cruel  thing,  as  well  as  wrong. 
Do  you  think  it  is?" 

"Yes,  Wynt;  I  do." 

"  And  you  would  not  feel  satisfied  to  have  the 
will  he  wished  to  set  aside  followed  by  you  or 
me?" 

"  No;  how  could  I  ?  Since  you  ask  the  ques- 
tion, Wynt" 

"I  thought  so,  and  I'm  glad,  for  that  makes 
us  agreed.  Then  you'll  be  sure  not  to  take  it 
unkindly  when  I  say  Mr.  Wilkie  gives  me  leave 
to  go  away,  taking  Cyp  too,  of  course.  That 


158  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

arrangement  about  the  home  was  one  uncle 
wished  to  change,  no  doubt." 

Vivian  had  time  to  collect  herself  before  she 
answered,  for  the  surprise  had  put  Tom  on  his 
feet  in  front  of  them  both. 

"Now  what  a  ridiculous  lot  of  nonsense, 
Wynt !  How  do  you  know  that  was  what  he 
meant?  And  the  thing's  got  to  be  carried  out. 
You  can't  help  yourself.  The  house  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  your  home." 

"Very  well;  it  maybe.  But  people  do  not 
always  choose  to  live  at  home,  do  they?" 

Tom  was  staggered.  He  knew  very  well 
what  Vivian  had  chosen,  and  might  still  choose 
to  do. 

"But,  Wynt" — and  the  pressure  on  his  hand 
was  this  time  made  close  and  quick — "I  don't 
understand.  This  is  too  sudden.  Go  away,  did 
you  say?  Are  you  quite  sure  that  is  right?" 

"  Yes,  I  am  quite  sure." 

"But — you  would  leave  us?  That  would  be 
a  great  change !  And  where  would  you  go  ? 
We  should  want  to  understand  all  about  that.  It 
must  be  just  the  place." 

"Mr.  Wilkie  is  satisfied  about  that.  He  is 
my  guardian,  you  know.  It  would  be  with  a 
friend  who  will  take  good  care  of  us;  and  it  is 
not  far  away.  That  will  satisfy  you,  I  am  sure." 

Vivian  hesitated.  If  the  truth  were  told,  she 
would  rather  it  were  somewhat  far  away. 


MR.  ADRIANCE  TURNED  AWAY."    PaKe  159. 


NO   MORE   HAVISHAM    HOUSE.  159 

"Now  see  here,  Wynt,"  broke  in  Mr.  Adri- 
ance,  "what  do  you  propose  to  do,  if  you  cut 
clear  of  this?" 

"To  go  into  Brainerd  and  Gray's  and  work 
for  Cyp  and  myself.  We  have  something  to  fall 
back  upon,  but  nothing  for  going  ahead,  so  I 
strike  in  there.  Uncle  often  talked  of  a  business 
life  for  me.  I  was  to  choose,  you  know." 

Mr.  Adriance  turned  away  with  one  of  his 
long  whistles;  but  Vivian  put  out  a  hand  gently 
towards  him. 

' '  Tom  !  Why  do  you  disturb  Wynt  when  he 
has  his  mind  comfortably  made  up?  It  is  a  great 
matter  for  a  young  man  to  do  that,  and  it  has  to 
come,  first  or  last.  Mr.  Wilkie  is  a  good  counsel- 
lor and  papa's  choice  for  Wynt.  If  he  is  sure 
Wynt  is  right  and  will  be  in  a  safe,  happy  home 
— if  he  is  satisfied — " 

"Then  you  are,  do  you  mean  to  say?"  Wynt 
asked. 

"Why,  yes,  Wynt,  I  am  satisfied.  I  do  n't  see 
that  I  have  a  right  to  interfere.  The  old  house 
will  seem  very  strange  without  you,  though." 

"  Oh,  you  '11  soon  get  past  that  Perhaps  to- 
morrow, then,  if  I  can  get  everything  picked  up. 
I  '11  go  now,  for  I  want  a  last  ride  on  Black  wing. 
I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  let  him  go.  I  can't 
keep  up  such  luxuries  any  more." 

He  had  a  glorious  canter  and  came  back  feel- 
ing quite  made  over  and  fresh. 


160  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"  It '  s  a  good  thing,  too, ' '  he  thought.  '  *  Viv- 
ian talks  about  'getting  my  mind  comfortably 
made  up,'  but  she  doesn't  see  just  how  the  pro- 
cess goes  on.  Some  of  the  'pulling,'  as  Cyp 
would  call  it,  goes  pretty  hard.  Doesn't  it, 
Blackwing?"  and  he  smoothed  the  mane  Waite 
took  such  pride  in  for  its  gloss.  u  You  don't 
think  it's  easy  to  give  up  the  dear  old  home,  do 
you?"  he  went  on.  "I  love  every  inch  of  it  so. 
And  I  don't  feel  quite  cut  off  from  the  master 
that's  gone  out  of  it  while  I'm  here.  But  it 
don't  do  to  mind  hard  tugs,  old  fellow.  You'll 
think  so,  if  I  have  to  sell  you  for  an  old  carriage 
horse,  I'm  afraid." 

Waite  stood  ready  for  him  as  he  came  up. 
Wynt  threw  him  the  rein  with  the  * '  Thank 
you"  Waite  had  learned  to  expect,  but  he  lin- 
gered a  little.  He  did  not  seem  quite  ready 
to  see  Blackwing  led  away.  He  was  giving 
a  touch  to  the  headstall  here,  a  caress  on 
the  shoulder  there,  or  smoothing  the  horse's 
nose,  while  Blackwing  snorted  and  whinnied  in 
return. 

Then  he  turned  and  began  to  leave  them,  in 
his  usual  silent  way,  and  Waite  looked  after  him 
curiously. 

"I  never  see  him  seem  to  turn  to  the  animal 
for  comfort  so,"  he  thought.  "  But  it 's  no  won- 
der. He  needs  all  he  can  pick  up.  He's  had  a 
dead  hard  pull  these  last  two  weeks  for  a  boy, 


NO   MORE  HAVISHAM   HOUSE.  l6l 

Mr.  Wynt  has."  And  lie  began  to  lead  the  horse 
away. 

But  Wynt  was  facing  about  to  come  back. 
"  Waite,"  he  said,  and  Waite  turned. 

Wynt  was  holding  out  his  hand.  "  I  sha'  n't 
see  much  more  of  you,  Waite,"  he  said.  "I'm 
going  to  leave  the  old  home  very  soon;  I  suppose 
Black  wing  will  have  to  follow.  So  good-by." 

Waite' s  face  turned  really  white.  He  had  lost 
his  old  master :  was  he  to  lose  his  young  one 
too? 

"Oh,  don't  worry,  Waite;  I'm  not  going 
very  far.  Only  down  to  my  old  room  at  the  gate; 
but  I  sha'  n't  be  about  the  grounds  any  more. 
Black  wing  will  have  to  go  farther,  poor  beast." 

Waite's  face  did  not  brighten,  and  mouth  and 
eyes  opened  as  he  looked  at  Wynt.  "  Shipped  !" 
he  said  at  last  with  a  little  moan.  "  And  that's 
what  will  be  coming  to  the  rest  of  us,  then,  in  our 
turn.  Not  that  I  care  for  that  part  of  it,  though, 
with  two  masters  gone." 

"Oh,  no,  Waite,  I  don't  think  so.  I  don't 
feel  I've  any  right  to  stay,  as  things  happen  to  be 
left;  and  we  have  to  do  right,  you  know.  But 
the  rest  of  you  are  all  useful.  You'll  stick,  and 
I  '11  see  you  once  in  a  while." 

He  left  him  this  time,  as  quietly  as  if  nothing 
were  changed,  and  with  his  eyes  dropped  in  their 
old  thoughtful  way. 

" It's  a  wicked  scandal !"  muttered  Waite  in- 

Jodc*  H»Tlih*m'i  Will.  1 1 


l62  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

dignantly,  standing  and  looking  after  him  as  If 
rooted  to  the  ground.  "There  are  those  in  the 
house  that  could  help  it  if  they  would;  he 
needn't  tell  me.  Nor  the  judge  never  meant  it, 
neither;  I'd  risk  every  horse  in  the  stable  on 
that.  'Doing  right,'  he  calls  it  It's  a  queer 
kind  of  right  for  some  folks;  but  if  his  share's 
done  on  that  score,  it 's  mighty  well  done.  If  I 
ever  find  it  hard  holding  up  to  where  I  ought 
to  be,  it'll  help  me  to  remember  how  that  boy 
walks  out  of  what  should  have  been  his  own. 
And  I  say  again  it's  a  wicked  scandal;  and 
there's  those  that  could  help  it  if  they  would," 
he  repeated,  as  he  led  Blackwing  away  at  last 


OFF  TO  THE  COUNTRY  SEAT.  163 

I 

CHAPTER   XX. 

OFF  TO  THE  COUNTRY  SEAT. 

'  IT  did  not  take  Wynt  long  to  make  his  prepa- 
rations. He  went  about  them  instantly  and  with 
expedition.  The  first  thing  was  to  tell  Cyp,  and 
the  second  to  keep  as  much  as  possible  out  of  Mr- 
Adriance's  way. 

"He's  worse  than  Mr.  Wilkie  to  fight,"  he 
said;  "good,  kind  old  Tom  !" 

The  news  spread  like  wildfire  from  Waite  to 
the  other  servants;  Waite  couldn't  keep  it  to 
himself  and  breathe. 

Bent  came  to  Wynt  actually  bowed  over  and 
without  a  word. 

"It's  a  shame,  Bent !  I  never  meant  you  tcr 
hear  it  from  any  one  but  myself.  I  looked  for 
you  when  I  came  in,  but  you  weren't  about 
It 's  only  decided  this  morning;  but  I  ought  to 
have  told  you  first" 

Bent  looked  carefully  in  every  direction. 
There  was  no  one  near.  "I'm  afraid,  Mr. 
Wynt,"  he  said  slowly,  finding  words  at  last, 
"I'm  afraid  it  was  decided  long  before  that — one 
night  when  I  heard  Mr.  Thorpe  promising  Miss 
Vivian  he  would  do  something  that  she  wished." 

Wynt  started  as  if  he  had  been  stung.     "  Are 


164  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

you  sure,  Bent  ?     Then  7  am  sure,  ten  thousand 
times,  that  I  am  doing  right." 

He  stood  still  a  moment,  and  then  wrung  the 
old  butler's  hand.  "  Never  mind,  Bent !  I  shall 
be  close  to  you  all  the  same,  and  you  '11  like  to  see 
me  my  own  man;  since  things  are  as  they  are,  I 
mean."  And  he  went  steadily  up  stairs. 

There  was  a  little  room  near  the  front  door  at 
Barbie's  called  a  parlor,  but  it  had  up  to  the 
present  time  stood  empty  and  unoccupied.  She 
had  no  use  for  such  finery  as  parlors,  she  declared. 
Wynt  looked  about  his  own  room  and  Cyp's,  at 
treasures  they  had  there,  and  remembered  how 
this  was.  Why  could  he  not  put  these  things 
into  Barbie's  empty  room?  He  and  Cyp  would 
have  a  little  home,  then.  They  knew  how  to 
use  a  parlor,  if  Barbie  did  n't.  That  would  make 
everything  all  right.  Sundays  and  evenings  had 
been  rather  a  puzzle  before;  and  where  were  they 
to  ask  any  friend  to  come  ? 

There  was  no  very  great  amount  of  things,  it 
was  true,  only  the  few  mementos  of  East  Indian 
life  that  they  had  brought  across — a  few  Indian 
rugs,  two  or  three  bamboo  chairs,  a  curious 
carved  table  from  their  mother's  room,  a  few 
Eastern  curiosities,  and  so  on — but  Wynt  was 
sure  he  would  make  out 

"  There  are  those  pictures,  too,  that  uncle 
put  here  because  he  said  they  belonged  to  us — 
mamma's,  that  she  left  when  she  went  away. 


OFF  TO  THE  COUNTRY  SEAT.       165 

I  'm  sure  Vivian  will  not  object  to  our  taking  all 
this.  She  would  rather  it  was  gone.  Of  course 
I  must  go  and  ask  her  if  Waite  may  lend  a  hand 
to  get  them  off." 

He  started  to  find  her,  but  met  Cyp  on  the 
stairs.  Now  for  it,  then  !  But  how  much  was 
it  best  to  tell  the  boy?  That  was  the  only  ques- 
tion that  seemed  hard, 

"Cyp,"  he  said,  "what  are  you  about  just 
now?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  answered  Cyp  lan- 
guidly. "I  guess  I  was  looking  for  you.  I'm 
tired  and  my  head  aches.  Things  are  so  different 
from  what  they  were.  Oh,  I  wish  Uncle  Thorpe 
could  be  down  stairs  just  to-day!"  And  to 
Wynt's  amazement  Cyp  burst  into  a  little  agony 
of  grief. 

Wynt  drew  him  up  to  him  quickly  and  got 
him  off  into  his  room.  Cyp  had  been  so  quiet 
since  those  first  two  or  three  terrible  days  that 
Wynt  had  thought  he  was  settling  into  the  new 
life,  child  fashion,  with  only  a  short-lived  pain. 
Yesterday  was  soon  going  to  seem  a  good  way 
off  to  him,  he  thought  But  he  found  his  mis- 
take now,  and  quite  a  little  time  had  to  pass 
before  he  could  venture  to  bring  up  what  must 
be  said. 

"Cyp,"  he  began  at  last,  "what  would  you 
think  of  making  a  little  change  ? — if  we  were  to 
go  down  to  the  'country  seat'  to  stay?  Mr. 


1 66  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Wilkie  and  I  think  it  would  be  best  for  some 
reasons,  and  Barbie  says  we  may  come." 

Cyp  was  silent  a  moment  and  then  shook  his 
head.  u  I  'd  rather  stay  here,"  he  said  stoutly. 

' '  But  I  think  it  will  be  easier  out  of  the  house, 
don't  you?" 

"No,   I  don't.     I'd  rather  stay  where  uncle 
always  was;  and  I  like  large  places  best  too." 

Wynt  almost  smiled.  "Oh,  you  poor  little 
Havisham  !"  he  thought.  "I<uxury  is  a  pretty 
good  thing  to  you,  isn't  it?  Well,  I'll  fight  up 
to  it  for  you  some  day,  if  I  can." 

"Then,  Cyp,"  he  said,  "I'll  tell  you  some- 
thing more.  We  have  no  right  here  any  longer. 
I  think  uncle  did  not  mean  us  to  stay,  and  in  that 
case  it  would  not  be  right" 

"I  say,  now,  you'll  never  make  me  believe 
that !"  exclaimed  Cyp,  starting  up  with  his  face 
suddenly  ablaze.  "You  and  Mr.  Wilkie  together 
can't  do  it.  Not  about  Uncle  Thorpe." 

Wynt  looked  at  him  half  pleased,  half  trou- 
bled, at  this  unexpected  show  of  fight.  "But, 
Cyp — perhaps  you're  right — but  we  can't  really 
know.  The  very  last  words  he  tried  to  say  look 
as  if  he  had  some  other  plan  that  he  thought 
better.  We  don't  know  what  that  was,  so  we 
have  to  let  it  go  and  do  what  is  right,  as  nearly 
as  we  can  guess.  It's  hard,  but  we  must  'hold 
on  tighter  the  harder  things  pull.'  Do  you 
remember  that,  Cyp?  Now  if  we  take  all  our 


OFF  TO  THE  COUNTRY  SEAT.  167 

things  over  to  Barbie's,  we  can  fix  up  in  great 
style  and  have  a  place  all  our  own.  Come  along, 
wont  you,  and  lend  a  hand?" 

It  was  a  busy  day  after  that,  for  Wynt  felt  he 
would  rather  get  the  thing  over,  in  spite  of  pro- 
tests from  Tom  and  graceful  invitations  from 
Vivian  to  delay. 

"But,  Wynt  dear — Waite  is  at  your  service, 
of  course  —  but  why  do  you  make  such  haste? 
There  surely  is  no  need.  Why  not  stay  with  us 
a  little  longer?  Waite  can  take  the  things  over 
at  any  time." 

With  Tom  it  was  much  harder  to  deal,  for  his 
opposition  really  amounted  to  something;  the  dis- 
covery that  "  not  far  away  "  meant  the  cottage  at 
the  gate  had  mounted  his  regret  to  the  pitch  of 
excitement 

"I  say,  Vivian,  it  is  simply  a  scandal  and 
disgrace!"  he  had  broken  out.  "A  part  of  the 
family  in  the  house  and  part  of  it  in  the  porter's 
lodge,  or  whatever  you  call  the  thing!  How  are 
you  going  to  like  the  looks  of  that?" 

Vivian  did  not  reply  for  a  moment.  She  had 
had  some  rather  "queer"  reflections  of  her  own 
when  the  discovery  was  first  made;  but  still,  on 
the  whole — 

"Now,  Tom  dear,  if  you  would  just  be  quiet 
and  sensible,"  she  said,  as  she  tried  the  effect  of  a 
change  in  the  position  of  some  ornaments  in  the 
room.  "What  difference  does  it  really  make? 


i68  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

The  boys  have  used  that  room  and  liked  it  many 
a  time  before  to-day.  It  was  papa's  own  idea. 
And  as  for  the  'family,'  I  never  considered  them 
part  of  it,  especially;  did  you?  Do  you  call  it 
separating  the  family  to  have  let  Mrs.  Lewyn  go 
home?  She  concluded  to  do  so,  I  believe,  only 
the  day  that  we  arrived.  There,  Tom,  I  think 
there 's  a  better  contrast  of  color  with  this  so." 

Tom  got  out  of  the  room  as  well  as  he  could 
and  tried  Wynt  next  on  the  subject  of  haste;  he 
was  really  distressed,  as  Wynt  could  not  but 
see. 

"I  say,  Wynt,  you're  disgracing  the  family! 
What  in  the  mischief  is  all  this  hurry  about,  if 
you  will  go?  It  looks  as  if  we'd  fired  you  out. 
Do  you  think  we  have?  Or  do  you  want  other 
people  to  think  so?" 

Wynt  sat  down  on  the  bamboo  hamper  he  was 
packing  and  pushed  back  his  cap  as  he  looked  up. 
"Mr.  Adriance,"  he  said,  "you're  extremely 
kind.  Wont  you  sit  down  on  some  of  these 
things?  I  'm  firing  myself  out,  if  any  one  is.  I 
believe  with  all  my  heart  you  'd  like  us  to  stay. 
I  can't  help  thinking  so.  But  I  can't  see  that 
I've  any  right  to;  and  if  the  thing  is  coming,  I 
like  to  get  it  over,  do  n't  you  know?" 

"  You  have  a  right  to  stay  anywhere  if  you  're 
invited,  I  suppose,"  was  the  answer  from  Mr. 
Adriance;  but  there  was  rather  an  awkward  si- 
lence after  this. 


OFF  TO  THE  COUNTRY  SEAT.       169 

"Well,  I've  said  my  say.  You're  a  deter- 
mined youngster,  though,  as  I've  found  out  be- 
fore. But  I  wish,  for  the  sake  of  all  that 's  re- 
spectable, you  'd  hold  on  a  few  days.  Let  people 
outside  have  time  to  say,  'The  king  is  dead,'  at 
least.  And  understand  one  thing:  you  never  go 
out  of  a  house  that  belongs  to  me  for  any  notions 
you  take  into  your  head!" 

"All  right,"  answered  Wynt,  smiling;  "and 
thank  you,  besides.  Now  there 's  one  more 
thing  I  do  n'  t  like  to  pick  up  without  speaking  of 
it  to  Vivian." 

"What's  that?" 

"A  little  sort  of  portfolio,  one  of  those  queer 
East  Indian  things,  straw,  in  purple  and  red  and 
yellow  dyes.  Uncle  took  a  fancy  to  it  and  I 
begged  him  to  use  it.  It  lay  on  his  study  desk. 
But  I  always  remember  that  it  was  mamma's,  so 
that  if  no  one  cares  I  'd  like  to  take  it  along." 

"Go  for  it,  then,  of  course.  It's  your  own. 
Vivian  is  down  there,  though,  if  you  think  it  bet- 
ter form  to  speak  of  it  I'm  going  to  take  the 
horses  out;  it  will  do  me  good.  Will  you  come 
along?  Or  wont  you  ride  behind  them  because 
they  weren't  left  to  you?" 

"  Not  so  bad  as  that;  but  Waite  's  coming  up 
for  these  things.  I  '11  go  as  far  as  the  library  and 
explain  about  the  portfolio." 

He  did  so,  very  sure  Vivian  would  not  regret 
seeing  anything  East  Indian  go  out  of  the  house. 


I7O  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"It's  empty  now,"  he  said,  holding  it  up. 
"  There  were  some  law-papers  lying  in  it  that 
Mr.  Wilkie  had  to  get  to  finish  up  a  case." 

"  Empty!"  repeated  Vivian  as  she  took  it  ten- 
derly from  Wynt's  hand.  "  Poor,  dear  papa!  It 
might  as  well  be!  Everything  seems  empty  since 
he  left  it,  doesn't  it,  Wynt?"  Then  she  handed 
it  back  to  him.  u  Why,  certainly.  Why  do  you 
ask  me  ?  It  is  your  own.  It  is  pleasant  to  think 
papa  used  it,  but  you  will  cherish  it,  I  know. 
Did  you  notice  which  way  Tom  went?" 


HOW  DO  YOU  LIKE  IT?  171 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

SOW  DO  YOU  LIKE  IT? 

IT  is  easy  to  make  a  great  change,  but  harder 
to  realize  that  it  is  made.  Wynt  went  about  his 
new  life  the  first  few  days  with  the  feeling  that  it 
was  for  those  few  days  only.  He  had  gone  some- 
where to  do  something,  but  it  seemed  only  as 
some  odd  thing  taken  up.  He  should  push  it 
through,  of  course,  but  he  could  not  get  the 
slightest  feeling  that  it  was  his  life,  and  to  be  his 
life,  really  and  for  years. 

"How  do  you  like  it?"  Lee  found  opportu- 
nity to  ask,  when  the  book-keeper  left  the  office 
for  a  moment  and  Lee  looked  in  at  Wynt  mounted 
on  his  stool. 

"  Have  n't  quite  got  hold  of  it,"  answered 
Wynt.  "The  old  times  seem  the  real  ones  yet, 
and  I  feel  as  if  I  were  acting  in  a  play." 

' '  Well,  the  play  will  seem  real  enough  before 
you're  as  old  a  performer  as  I.  It's  a  big  drag. 
I  feel  like  hanging  myself  that  I  ever  let  you 
come  in.  But  I  '11  keep  Warnock  off  you  as 
much  as  I  can." 

Wynt  smiled.     "  I  don't  think  I  'm  afraid  of 
Warnock.     I  want  to  get  these  figures  in  right 
I  believe  that's  all  I'm  anxious  about" 


173  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

"  It 's  strange  how  matter  of  course  it  all  does 
begin  to  seem,  though,"  he  found  himself  think- 
ing, as  a  little  more  time  had  passed.  "I  begin 
to  understand  Lee's  calling  it  a  'mill.'  Round 
and  round,  the  same  thing  every  day.  I  like  it, 
though.  I  like  taking  up  a  thing  and  gripping 
at  it  and  feeling  like  a  man.  It  seems  awfully 
queer  to  look  back  and  see  how  much  loafing  I 
used  to  do.  And  I  like  to  see  Cyp  so  jolly  there 
at  home,  and  think  I  'm  earning  it  for  him.  Poor 
little  Cyp!  I  shall  have  to  be  wide-awake  to  get 
him  all  he  needs.  But  he  '11  never  eat  bread  that 
doesn't  belong  to  him,  nor  beg  nor  borrow  what 
wasn't  intended  to  be  his.  We're  safe  out  of 
that,  whatever  comes. " 

The  figures  "went  in  right,"  and  the  book- 
keeper, who  had  looked  doubtfully  at  Wynt  when 
he  came  in,  began  to  pass  rather  more  into  his  hands 
than  his  predecessor  had  been  trusted  to  do. 

' ( I  like  that  still,  dark-faced  fellow  of  yours, 
Lee,"  he  said  one  day,  nodding  after  him  as 
Warnock  had  called  him  off.  "There  isn't  a 
word  out  of  him  that  isn't  called  for,  and  those 
black  eyelashes  of  his  do  n't  seem  to  get  lifted  by 
the  hour,  sometimes.  He  just  grapples  what's 
given  him  and  sticks  to  it.  I  was  afraid  there 
was  too  much  high-stepping  in  the  training  he  'd 
had;  but  he's  all  right;  no  trouble  about  him,  if 
he  holds  out." 

"  He  '11  hold  out,"  answered  Lee  as  he  turned 


HOW  DO  YOU  LIKE   IT?  173 

away.  "More  trouble  for  him  than  with  him," 
he  added  under  his  breath,  u  in  this  place." 

He  passed  down  the  store  and  met  Wynt  com- 
ing back. 

"How  are  you,  old  fellow?"  Wynt  asked 
heartily  as  he  passed.  He  had  not  had  a  chance 
for  a  word  that  day. 

"Headache,"  answered  Lee.  "Didn't  get 
more  than  four  hours'  sleep  last  night" 

"Four  hours'  sleep?  What's  the  mat- 
ter?" 

"Nothing  the  matter.  Must  get  some  pleas- 
ure by  night,  you  know,  if  you  grind  all  day. 
I  '11  get  a  chance  for  a  smoke,  and  feel  better  by- 
and-by."  And  he  passed  on. 

Wynt  hardly  knew  whether  he  saw  figures 
before  him  or  not,  for  a  while  after  that.  What 
in  the  name  of  sense  had  got  hold  of  Lee  ?  or  was 
keeping  hold  of  him  rather.  He  thought  that 
wretched  nonsense  would  have  worked  itself  off 
before  now. 

"Junketting  with  miserable  fellows  away 
down  below  him,"  he  said;  "below  what  he 
ought  to  be,  at  least.  He 's  disgusted  with  it 
himself,  I  know.  He  can't  help  it  What  kind 
of  sport  is  there  in  that  ?  If  he  thought  there 
was,  to  begin  with,  it  can't  have  held  out  He 
really  seems  to  imagine  it 's  spiting  the  store  !  I 
wish  they  'd  take  him  out  of  it  What 's  the  use 
of  trying  to  make  a  colt  swim  like  a  duck  ?  A 


174  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

colt  isn't  good  for  much,  though,  till  he  breaks 
to  harness.  I  wish  Lee  would  give  in." 

The  next  few  days  he  seemed  to  have  scarcely 
an  opportunity  to  speak  to  him,  and  only  com- 
monplaces passed  between  them  when  he  had; 
but  Lee's  face  did  not  satisfy  him.  It  brightened 
whenever  he  saw  Wynt  coming;  it  was  a  great 
pleasure,  evidently,  to  have  him  in  the  store. 
But  the  look  Wynt  did  not  like  was  there,  through 
all  the  friendly  chatting,  half  bitter,  half  reck- 
less, never  really  happy,  as  the  free-hearted  Lee 
Brainerd  used  to  be. 

And  Jem  was  another  one.  He  had  n'  t  passed 
Wynt  without  speaking,  again,  since  the  other 
day;  but  evidently  things  did  not  go  right  yet. 

"Have  you  been  to  Mab  yet?"  Wynt  asked 
suddenly  at  last,  as  he  ran  upon  Jem  in  the  door- 
way again. 

"  No,  I  haven't  been  to  Mab,"  answered  Jem 
half  defiantly.  *  *  Why  should  I  go  to  her  ?' ' 

"  You  know  well  enough  why  you  should  go 
to  her.  Because  it 's  right,  to  begin  with.  March 
along,  like  a  man,  and  make  everything  as  it 
should  be.  I  never  heard  that  getting  married 
was  the  only  thing  in  the  world.  Can't  you  be 
friends  ?  If  you  got  her  into  the  way  of  caring 
for  you,  to  begin  with,  what  right  have  you  to 
take  yourself  off?" 

uAnd  what  right  have  you  to  ask  me,  any 
more?" 


HOW  DO  YOU   LIKE   IT?  175 

"I  don't  know.  Perhaps  I  haven't  any. 
But  I'm  a  working-man  like  yourself  now,  Jem. 
Remember  that." 

"  He  said  I  was  to  do  it  because  't  was  right," 
muttered  Jem  as  he  went  off  about  his  porter's 
work.  "They  say  he's  cleared  out  of  the 
Havisham  House  and  come  in  here  because  he 
thought  that  was  right.  Maybe  it  was,  and  may- 
be it  wasn't;  that's  what  people  say.  But  his 
doing  of  it  is  more  lesson  to  me  than  his  talk  can 
be." 

He  hoisted  a  huge  piece  of  freight  from  the 
wagon  with  the  ease  that  strength  and  sleight  of 
hand  together  give,  and  then  pulled  his  cap  over 
his  eyes  with  a  quick  jerk. 

*'  But  I  'm  not  going  back  to  Mab  though,  for 
all.  I  can't  She  throwed  me  over,  and  she  'd 
not  'a'  done  it  if  she  'd  cared.  Or  if  she  does,  I 
can't  help  it  It 's  as  rough  on  me  as  on  her.  I 
do  n't  care  for  much,  more  out  o'  this  world  with 
her  gone." 

Mr.  Wilkie  did  not  lose  sight  of  WynL  He 
made  an  excuse  to  send  for  him  from  his  office 
two  or  three  times,  besides  looking  in  at  the  new 
quarters  at  Barbie's,  and  satisfied  himself  that  no 
harm  was  being  done. 

"Let  him  work  it  through,"  he  said  to  him- 
self. "I  enjoy  seeing  the  thing  done,  and  he's 
all  right.  I  like  to  see  a  fellow  fight  it  out  on 
his  own  line — when  his  line  is  a  good  one." 


176  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

So  everything  ran  on  for  a  time,  the  novelty 
wearing  off  and  people  getting  used  to  seeing 
Wynt  go  into  Brainerd  and  Gray's  and  up  the 
back  street  to  the  rear  gateway  of  the  grounds. 

They  did  not  do  it  without  a  good  deal  of 
surmising  and  excitement,  however,  at  first. 
There  was  something  wrong  somewhere,  every 
one  was  sure,  and  sure  every  one  else  was  right 
in  thinking  so.  Judge  Havisham  never  meant  to 
have  things  go  on  like  that.  Or  if  he  did,  some 
undue  influence  had  been  brought  to  bear.  Still 
it  was  said  the  boys  had  a  right  in  the  house, 
after  all.  Then  it  must  be  the  Adriances'  fault. 
Wynt  would  not  take  what  he  thought  did  not 
belong  to  him.  Of  course  he  wouldn't !  They 
all  knew  him  well  enough  for  that.  But  the 
Adriances  could  make  him  feel  that  something 
did  belong  to  him,  as  well  as  the  judge  had  before 
them,  if  they  chose.  Why  not  ?  And  the  feeling 
did  not  lose  strength,  though  the  talk  about  it 
passed  by  after  a  time,  as  all  nine  days'  wonders 
get  laid  upon  the  shelf. 

Vivian  went  away  in  the  midst  of  it  for  an 
indefinite  time,  leaving  Bent  and  Burnham  to 
take  care  of  the  empty  house.  Gossip  said  it  was 
to  let  the  back-gate  idea  get  a  little  old;  but  no 
one,  aside  from  all  that,  supposed  a  shadowed 
house,  too  newly  so  to  admit  of  merry  company, 
could  keep  Mrs.  Adriance  very  long. 

As  for  the  rest  of  the  household,   they  had 


HOW   DO  YOU   LIKE   IT?  177 

been  divided  between  grief  and  sentiments  that 
they  did  not  freely  express.  So  many  years  of 
service  had  not  passed  without  each  member  of 
the  family  being  pretty  clearly  measured  and 
read.  The  judge,  the  boys,  Vivian — oh,  the  ser- 
vants knew  ! 

And  whatever  they  might  know  or  not  know 
of  the  movements  of  the  last  few  weeks,  each  had 
his  or  her  own  private  opinion  as  to  who  had  done 
it  all  and  how  it  had  been  done. 

Bent  went  mechanically  about  the  house, 
neglecting  nothing;  but  what  was  the  use  of  dark- 
ening or  opening  rooms,  lighting  gas  or  putting 
it  out  again  ?  The  light  was  gone  out  of  the  old 
house  for  ever  to  him.  He  had  never  thought  he 
could  outlive  Mr.  Thorpe.  But  if  he  could  only 
hear  the  footsteps  of  the  young  masters  about, 
and  know  they  were  growing  up  to  fill  their 
uncle's  place !  That  he  had  been  sure  they 
would  do,  whether  he  and  Mr.  Thorpe  lived  to 
see  it  or  not. 

"Mab,"  he  said  one  evening,  as  a  little  silence 
came,  "you  remember  the  night  I  told  you  Mr. 
Cyp's  saying  about  '  holding  on '  ?" 

Mab's  face  flushed  quickly.  Did  she  remem- 
ber ! 

"Well,  that  night,  dark  as  things  seemed,  I 
remember  another  thing  I  was  saying  to  myself. 
Young  folks  think  their  troubles  sore,  and  so  they 
are  sometimes;  but  they  little  know  how  much 

Jndgo  tUvtehun'i  Will.  1 2 


178  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

room  there 's  left  for  still  more  to  come  in.  And 
now  look  what  the  last  two  months  have  brought 
Not  a  Havisham  left  in  the  old  house  !  In  my 
day,  too,  Mab.  I  wouldn't  have  believed  it 
could  ever  come;  but  in  my  day  !" 

Mab  hesitated.  "But  Miss  Vivian  will  be 
coming  back  some  day,"  she  said. 

1  'Yes,"  Bent  answered;  and  each  understood 
why  the  other  said  nothing  more. 

"  There  is  no  earthly  way  to  bear  it  all,  Mab," 
Bent  began  suddenly  again,  "if  it  wasn't  for  the 
*  holding  on '  we  were  talking  about  the  other 
night.  I'm  getting  too  old  a  man  just  to  breast 
things.  I  could  never  carry  it  alone." 

uOh,  yes,  father,"  answered  Mab  cheerily, 
"we  must  hold  on  to  it — the  Hand  that  held  on 
to  the  cross  for  us;  that's  what  I  always  think. 
It 's  comfort  through  everything.  And  it 's  never 
going  to  let  anything  touch  us  that  it  doesn't  see 
fit" 

"Yes,  Mab,"  said  Bent,  as  he  rose  to  go  back 
and  put  out  his  lights;  he  would  not  let  the 
Havisham  House  show  a  dark  front  in  the  even- 
ings  yet;  "I  know  we  are  like  children  in  the 
nursery  to  him.  He  knows  we  '11  think  all  these 
things  trifles  before  long;  just  forgotten  in  sight 
of  what  he 's  giving  us  as  his  time  comes.  But 
they  seem  heavy  just  now,  Mab;  and  somehow 
I've  got  a  strange  feeling  as  if  there  was  more  to 
come,  more  to  come  still,  before  very  long." 


HOW  DO  YOU    LIKE   IT?  179 

Mab  watched  him  a  little  anxiously  as  he 
went  out.  More  to  come  still?  What  could 
there  be  more  ?  Unless  she  were  to  be  taken  away 
from  him ;  and  even  then  !  Yes,  he  would  miss 
her;  but  she  was  quite  a  good-for-naught,  she 
thought. 

"  Oh,  but  he 's  just  got  a  little  nervous  with  it 
all.  He  took  my  matters  with  Jem  to  heart  a 
great  deal,  and  now  there's  all  this.  But  what- 
ever comes,  we  '11  be  happy.  We  can't  pine  with 
such  a  love  and  a  kingdom  as  we  know  is  open  to 
us,  and  such  a  Hand  to  hold  to  through  it  all, 
and  knowing  all 's  right.  We'll  just  hold  on  the 
tighter."  And  Mab  took  up  her  pretty  bit  of 
work,  humming  a  peaceful  little  song  to  herself 
meantime. 


i8o  JUDGE  HA  vis  HAM'S  WILL. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

SHOULDERING  UP. 

THREE  months  passed,  with  no  special  change 
in  the  way  events  moved  on.  Wynt  began  to 
feel  as  if  he  had  always  been  divided  between  sit- 
ting perched  upon  his  stool  and  getting  down 
from  it  to  meet  some  demand  from  Mr.  Warnock 
at  the  other  end  of  the  store. 

Lee's  dislike  to  the  latter  seemed  to  grow 
more  intense  and  harder  to  conceal,  and  Wynt 
was  glad  whenever  he  could  feel  that  he  was 
meeting  a  call  that  would  have  been  Lee's  had 
he  not  been  there. 

"It  is  hard  to  stand  the  man,"  he  said  one 
day,  half  laughing,  to  himself;  "but  he  don't 
seem  to  stir  me  up  as  much  as  he  does  Lee,  which 
is  a  good  thing.  I  think  that  supercilious,  lordly 
way  of  ordering  a  fellow  about  amuses  me,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  really  does  'grind,'  as  Lee  says, 
if  you've  a  mind  to  take  it  so.  I  believe  he's 
trying  to  work  me  a  little  too,  the  last  two  or  three 
weeks.  It  may  be  imagination,  but  I  think  so. 
I  don't  know  what  started  him,  unless  it  was  that 
thing  about  the  carpet  the  other  day;  the  day  I 
told  a  customer  it  was  last  year's  stock,  when  he 
had  just  got  him  up  to  the  buying  pitch,  a  sixty- 


SHOULDERING   UP.  l8l 

yard  bill,  by  saying  it  was  just  in  and  the  latest 
thing  out.  I  never  dreamed  I  was  running 
against  him  till  I  sa\v  him  get  hot." 

Wynt  turned  back  to  his  books.  His  head 
ached  to-day  and  figures  did  not  seem  clear. 
Unconsciously  a  new  problem  in  multiplication 
began  to  come  up. 

How  many  days,  weeks,  months,  and  so  on  of 
this  sort  of  thing  were  ahead  of  him  before  he 
could  hope  to  get  any  higher  up  ?  And  when  he 
got  higher  up,  how  much  difference,  after  all,  was 
there  going  to  be  in  the  'grind'?  And  as  Cyp 
grew  older  and  his  wants  became  proportionately 
greater,  was  he  ever  going  to  be  able  to  work  it 
all  out  ? 

He  had  no  special  talents  himself,  but  Cyp 
had.  Cyp  must  be  educated  for  an  artist;  that 
had  been  always  understood.  It  was  one  thing 
to  pay  an  absurd  little  board  bill  at  Barbie's 
and  another  to —  But  what  was  the  use  of  think- 
ing about  it  all?  It  did  seem  to  be  standing  up 
pretty  big  and  black  to-day;  but  he  was  ashamed 
of  himself.  He  thought  he  was  more  of  a  man. 

He  put  his  pen  hastily  back  on  the  figures 
again.  So  much  time  lost  to  Brainerd  and  Gray. 

"If  I  could  only  look  in  uncle's  face  when  I 
got  home  at  night  !"  he  found  his  thoughts  sud- 
denly persisting,  without  any  leave  from  himself; 
and  one  of  those  great  waves  of  longing  that 
would  rush  up  now  and  then  rose  and  went  over 


JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

him.     A  Siberian  mine  would  be  sunshine  if  his 
uncle  were  only  in  it,  he  thought 

At  that  moment  he  heard  Warnock's  voice  at 
the  office  door. 

"This  way,  Havisham.  I'll  send  you  out  a 
few  moments,  if  you  're  not  wanted  here." 

Wynt  stepped  out,  and  Warnock  pointed  to  a 
roll  of  carpet  lying  near. 

"  I  want  you  to  take  that  and  carry  it  over 
to  12  Walnut  Street,"  he  said. 

Wynt  gave  it  a  glance,  and  then  uncon- 
sciously turned  another  quick  one  into  Warnock's 
face.  A  slight  shade  of  confusion  came  into  the 
latter,  but  it  was  covered  in  another  moment  by 
the  smile  Wynt  had  learned  to  dislike  so  much. 
The  carpet  was  heavy,  and  even  Jem  had  hardly 
ever  carried  one  without  his  wagon  for  Brainerd 
and  Gray,  as  Wynt  knew  very  well. 

But  Warnock  had  his  own  reasons  this  time, 
and  that  was  enough.  He  muttered  something 
about  hurry,  and  Jem  being  off  with  the  wagon 
getting  freight,  and  walked  away. 

Wynt  felt  his  blood  getting  suddenly  hot. 
"He  means  to  get  even  with  me  on  the  carpet 
question,"  he  said,  as  he  glanced  after  Warnock's 
retreating  form. 

Then  he  stooped,  shouldered  the  clumsy  roll, 
and  went  out. 

As  he  came  in,  nearly  half  an  hour  later,  Lee 
opened  the  door. 


SHOULDERING  UP.  183 

"Where  have  you  been  running  off,  all  this 
time?"  he  asked.  "  I  'd  like  half  an  hour's  out- 
ing myself.  I  only  had  five  minutes,  and  you 
were  gone  when  I  came  in  an  age  ago." 

"I  carried  a  carpet  to  12  Walnut  Street,"  an- 
swered Wynt  quietly  as  he  hung  up  his  hat. 


Wynt  could  hardly  help  smiling  at  the  min- 
gled astonishment  and  wrath  in  Lee's  face. 

"You  carried  a  carpet!  What  business  was 
that  of  yours?" 

"Jem  was  off,  you  were  out,  and  I  was  the 
next  youngest  hand  in  the  store." 

"Yes,"  said  Lee  sarcastically.  "And  Jem 
and  I  were  both  back  here  in  five  minutes  more. 
Didn't  you  spoil  a  sale  for  Warnock  the  other 
day?  And  you  look  as  cool  as  if  you  hadn't 
been  off  that  stool.  Where's  your  Havisham 
pride?" 

"  I  did  not  want  to  shame  it  by  leaving  my 
duty  undone." 

"  Who  calls  it  your  duty?  And  what  a  spec- 
tacle besides  !  Wynt  Havisham  toting  a  load 
like  that  !" 

"  If  Wynt  Havisham'  s  dignity  is  going  to 
suffer  from  carrying  a  bundle,  it's  pretty  soft 
material,"  was  all  the  satisfaction  Lee  got,  as 
Wynt  went  quietly  back  to  his  proper  work. 

Lee  walked  away  to  his.  A  customer  ap- 
peared for  him  at  the  moment  and  Lee  gave  his 


184  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

attention  as  well  as  he  could;  but  some  pretty  dis- 
tracting thoughts  kept  uppermost  and  he  was  hot 
to  his  finger  tips  for  Wynt 

< '  Just  like  Warnock  !' '  he  thought.  * '  He  just 
caught  his  opportunity  for  that.  I  don't  see  how 
Wynt  stands  him  as  he  does.  I  wish  he  had  tried 
it  on  me.  I  don't  think  I  would  have  touched 
the  thing,  and  it  might  have  helped  me  out  of 
the  store." 

But  by  the  time  his  customer  had  gone  a  dif- 
ferent set  of  reflections  began  to  corne  up.  Some- 
how, Wynt  sitting  there  so  quietly,  with  his 
errand  done,  commanded  more  respect  than  he 
had  ever  felt  for  him  before.  Havisham  dignity 
did  not  seem  hurt  at  all.  And  the  thought  of 
Lee  Brainerd  being  sent  out  of  the  store  for  a 
"row"  with  his  superior  looked,  comparatively, 
very  small. 

But  from  this  time  the  "  mill "  began  really  to 
seem  to  Wynt  what  Lee  had  warned  him  it  would. 

That  headache  did  not  wear  off.  What  was 
the  matter  with  it?  He  missed  his  gallops  on 
Blackwing,  he  thought  Somehow  there  never 
was  any  getting  off  in  the  air  with  really  free 
feeling  any  more.  The  room  by  Barbie's  front 
door  was  jaunty  and  homelike  as  could  be,  and 
great  fun;  but  Cyp  had  to  be  looked  after  and 
entertained,  of  course,  whenever  he  could  be 
there.  And  there  was  n't  very  much  of  a  day  left 
after  six  o'clock. 


SHOULDERING  UP.  185 

It  was  no  matter  for  a  while,  but  somehow  it 
began  to  seem  very  queer  to  look  forward  to  Its 
being  always  like  this. 

"  However,  that's  the  way  men  do,  and  I  can 
do  as  they  can,  of  course.  It  will  be  all  right 
when  I  get  used  to  it  They  don't  generally  be- 
gin at  my  age  with  a  small  boy  to  carry  along, 
though.  There 's  where  I  have  the  advantage  of 
them.  That's  the  pride  and  pleasure  of  the 
whole  thing.  Poor  little  Cyp;  he  doesn't  know 
how  I  enjoy  it  If  I  only  find  I  have  stuff 
enough  in  me  to  earn  all  he 's  going  to  need.  I 
do  n't  know  yet  whether  I  've  got  much  business 
make-up  in  me.  Perhaps  that's  what  Mr.  War- 
nock  is  trying  to  find  out"  And  he  smiled  as  he 
heard  his  name  called,  at  the  very  moment,  in 
that  familiar  voice. 

The  roll  of  carpet  had  not  been  his  last  ex- 
perience of  that  person's  skill  in  making  things 
uncomfortable  when  it  seemed  unnecessary  that 
they  should  be  so. 

"  Regular  persecution,"  Lee  declared  indig- 
nantly. "  Why,  he's  worse  than  he  ever  was  to 
me.  He  knows  you  're  above  him,  and  he 's  try- 
ing to  pull  you  down;  that's  all  there  is  of  it 
He  sold  newspapers  on  the  street,  in  old  shoes, 
before  he  came  in  here  as  boy.  He 's  made  him- 
self all  he  is." 

"Then  if  he's  made  himself  what  he  is,  he's 
above  me,  instead  of  below,"  answered  Wynt 


1 86  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

pleasantly,  "for  I've  never  made  myself  any- 
thing yet" 

"You  haven't,  eh?  There  are  some  people 
that  think  you  have,  then.  But  I  don't  see  how 
you  stand  him,  or  the  whole  thing,  anyway,  as 
you  do." 

"Oh,  come,  Lee,  brace  up!  You  want  to 
make  a  man  of  yourself,  wherever  you  are,  and 
Warnock  is  as  good  a  stepping-stone  towards  it  as 
any  other,  if  you  only  look  at  him  in  that  light 
Take  the  whole  thing  as  a  swing  at  the  gym- 
nasium; develops  muscle,  you  know.  Come 
round  to-night  and  try  the  banjo  with  Cyp  and 
me." 


A  HUNDRED  MILES  BELOW  LEVEL.    187 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  HUNDRED  MILES  BELOW  LEVEL. 

VIVIAN  had  returned  before  this  time,  bring- 
ing a  small,  quiet  company  with  her,  sufficient  to 
break  the  solitude  of  the  house  and  not  too  gay 
for  public  criticism. 

Mr.  Adriance  picked  up  Cyp  at  every  possi- 
ble chance  and  coaxed  him  off  for  drives,  half 
amused  and  half  vexed  to  see  a  shadow  of  hesita- 
tion on  Cyp's  part 

"I  believe,  on  my  word,  the  youngster  fights 
shy  of  it,  on  some  idea  the  turnout  don't  belong 
to  him  any  more.  He  always  had  a  droll  little 
air  of  seeming  to  feel  it  did  so  in  the  judge's  day. 
And  he's  not  going  to  beg  or  borrow  favors, 
that's  plain.  I'll  get  him  out  of  the  nonsense 
after  a  while;  but  I  believe  I  've  lost  WynL  I 
wouldn't  see  him  inside  of  that  store  if  I  never 
saw  him,  and  evenings  amount  to  nothing.  It  *s 
a  beggarly  shame,  the  whole  business,  that 's  all 
I  have  to  say." 

Cyp  u  fought  shy,"  still  more,  of  being  landed 
at  the  house  on  their  return,  as  Mr.  Adriance 
tried  several  times  to  do;  and  though  Vivian  sent 
a  ceremonious  invitation  to  lunch  and  another  to 


i88  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

dine,  the  hours  did  not  suit  work  at  Brainerd  and 
Gray's,  and  beyond  a  formal  call  of  acknowledg- 
ment Wynt  had  not  seen  the  inside  of  the  house 
since  he  left  it 

It  was  quite  as  well,  he  thought  The  home 
feeling  was  gone,  it  was  not  the  greatest  pleasure 
to  see  Vivian,  and  what  did  he  care  for  all  those 
strangers  there? 

' '  Tom 's  all  there  really  is, ' '  he  thought  ' '  It 
would  be  awfully  good  if  I  could  keep  a  little 
hold  of  him.  But  he  goes  with  the  rest  of  it,  I 
suppose." 

Meantime  Brainerd  and  Gray  had  come  to  their 
own  conclusions  about  their  new  clerk. 

"That  Havisham  will  be  valuable  to  us  some 
day,"  the  junior  partner  said  as  they  talked  over 
affairs. 

"Don't  flatter  yourself  we  shall  keep  him, 
though,"  was  Mr.  Brainerd' s  reply.  "They  say 
he 's  only  here  on  some  notion  of  his  own,  and 
he'll  get  over  it  some  day.  A  year  or  two  of 
hard  work  takes  the  sentiment  out  of  a  boy." 

UI  don't  know.  This  one  seems  to  have  a 
grip  on  what  he  takes  hold  of.  That's  what's 
going  to  make  a  successful  man  of  him.  He  '11 
have  a  business  of  his  own  and  get  rich  in  it 
before  we're  very  old  men.  I  wish  I  could  see 
some  of  the  rest  doing  as  well." 

"That  means  Lee,  I  suppose,"  answered  Mr. 
Brainerd  with  a  clouding  face.  "I  can't  excuse 


A  HUNDRED   MILES   BELOW   LEVEL.         189 

him,  Gray.  The  boy  has  n't  the  right  spirit,  and 
he  wont  do  well  till  he  has. ' ' 

"  I  do  n't  think  Lee  is  in  the  right  place  my- 
self," was  the  reply.  "  I  'm  afraid  it 's  a  mistake. 
It  goes  across  the  grain.  Why  not  let  him  strike 
off  to  a  profession  if  his  taste  lies  all  that  way?" 

"Because  I  think  he's  in  exactly  the  right 
place!"  answered  Mr.  Brainerd  excitedly.  "If  a 
boy  can't  stand  a  pull  across  the  grain  when  it 
comes,  he'll  be  good  for  nothing  as  a  man;  for 
he  '11  meet  one,  at  any  odd  minute,  as  long  as  he 
lives.  That 's  just  the  thing  I  'm  trying  with 
him.  If  I  could  see  he  'd  learned  the  lesson  to- 
day, I'd  send  him  off  to  college  to-morrow.  I 
do  n't  want  to  do  it  I'd  like  to  see  the  name  of 
Brainerd  in  the  business  when  I  'm  ready  to  go 
out;  but,  of  course,  we  put  our  own  wishes  into 
the  background  with  these  boys.  We  want  to 
see  them  happy  first.  But  if  Lee  can't  do  his 
duty  in  one  place  he  '11  never  be  sure  of  doing  it 
in  another." 

"No,  I  suppose  not.  I  should  feel  a  little 
shaky  about  him,  at  least  if  he  can't  pull  up  a 
little  shorter  than  he  is  now." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Mr.  Brainerd 
quickly,  with  an  undefined  feeling  that  the  other 
meant  more  than  he  said. 

"Well,"  said  his  partner  hesitatingly,  "he's 
not  altogether  satisfactory  in  the  store,  as  we 
know;  but  I  hear  some  pretty  hard  stories  about 


190  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

him  from  outside.  I  don't  like  to  mention  it, 
but  if  he  were  a  boy  of  mine  I  should  have  some 
anxiety  as  to  how  far  he  has  an  idea  of  carrying 
the  thing." 

"  I  will  tell  you,  then,  how  far  I  have  an  idea 
of  his  '  carrying  the  thing, '  whatever  that  may 
mean,"  said  Mr.  Brainerd  excitedly.  "Not  a 
single  step!  He  may  stop  just  where  he  is!" 

"Very  good;  excellent,  if  you  can  bring  it 
round.  But  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it  ? 
If  he  were  in  college  you  could  threaten  to  take 
him  out  and  set  him  to  work;  but  to  turn  him  out 
of  the  work  he  is  in  would  suit  the  young  man  to 
a  T.  And  suppose  you  try  it;  what  would  you 
do  with  him  then?  No;  I  don't  think  you  can 
work  it  that  way,  Brainerd.  It's  a  job  he's  got 
to  do  for  himself.  If  you  can  get  a  supply  of  the 
right  spirit  and  stick  it  into  him,  all  right.  I 
should  think  he  might  catch  a  little  from  that 
mate  of  his  we've  perched  on  that  stool." 

Mr.  Brainerd  "wished  he  might,  with  all  his 
heart,"  and  the  conversation  came  to  an  end;  but 
Mr.  Brainerd  was  far  from  satisfied. 

"Gray's  right  enough,"  he  said,  as  his 
thoughts  found  the  subject  holding  on  uncom- 
fortably; "the  boy's  got  to  do  it  for  himself,  as 
far  as  the  going  right  is  concerned;  but  if  he's 
going  wrong,  there  must  be  some  way  to  stop 
that" 

Accordingly,  the  next  time  Wynt  asked  Lee 


A  HUNDRED   MILES   BELOW   LEVEL. 

to  come  round  for  the  evening  he  drew  his  face 
into  a  demure  contortion  and  said  he  "didn't 
know."  "There's  something  mighty  queer  at 
headquarters  the  last  week,"  he  went  on.  "I 
don't  know  exactly  what's  up,  but  there's  a 
close  lookout  on  what  I  do  after  it  gets  shady  out 
of  doors.  I  shall  have  to  keep  pretty  shady  my- 
self till  it  blows  over,  and  make  up  lost  time 
afterwards." 

"Lee  Brainerd!"  exclaimed  Wynt,  turning 
round  upon  him  suddenly,  "is  it  possible  you 
can  stand  being  watched?  Bringing  watching 
on  yourself,  I  mean?" 

Lee  shrugged  his  shoulders  with  a  low  whis- 
tle, and  Wynt  turned  away  as  suddenly  as  he  had 
faced  him  before. 

In  an  instant  Lee  had  sprung  after  him. 
"Don't,  Wynt!"  he  cried  entreatingly.  "Don't! 
I  can  stand  the  governor  and  all  the  rest,  but  I 
can't  stand  it  if  you  turn  your  back  on  me  in 
disgust." 

Wynt  faced  about  again  instantly  and  gave 
him  a  hand.  "No,  Lee,  I  didn't  mean  that 
I'll  never  turn  my  back  on  you;  but  the  thing  I 
must  be  disgusted  with.  That,  you  know,  I 
can't  help." 

"  But  '  the  thing'  and  I  are  all  the  same,  bad 
luck  to  it  all!" 

"  They  're  not,  Lee.  You  know  better.  You 
despise  it  all  the  time  as  much  as  I  do.  What 


192  JUDGE   HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

do  you  want  to  throw  yourself  after  such  folly 
for?  You've  got  the  making  of  a  man  in  you 
and  you  know  it,  and  a  man  can  never  enjoy 
living  a  hundred  miles  or  so  below  his  level. 
It 's  no  sort  of  use." 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  'miles,'  but, 
after  all,  it 's  the  feeling  so  far  below  you  that 
takes  hold  of  me  just  now." 

"  Below  me!  Well,  if  you  think  so,  just  step 
up  and  stand  beside  me,  for  you  'd  only  be  your 
best  self  then.  But  we've  both  got  a  Leader, 
Lee.  Do  you  think  He  likes  to  see  us  straggling 
out  of  ranks?  I  tell  you  he  does  n't.  He  lived 
and  died  to  show  us  the  true  march  and  help  us 
back  into  it  when  we  're  out.  Just  get  hold  of 
His  hand  and  'hold  on,'  Lee.  Try  that  a  little 
while  and  see  where  you  are." 

As  Wynt  walked  home  and  turned  into  the 
Havisham  gate  he  felt  the  first  real  rustle  of  au- 
tumn leaves  under  his  feet.  The  season  had 
been  slipping  away  and  even  the  glory  of  the  late 
tints  had  almost  passed. 

The  rustle  gave  him  a  quick  unpleasant  feel- 
ing. Gone!  Since  the  day  Cyp  linked  the  dan- 
delion chain  on  the  front  porch,  spring,  summer, 
almost  autumn,  and  what  had  they  carried  away ! 
These  brown  leaves  were  fresh,  just  barely  out  on 
the  trees,  that  day  when  Cyp  tried  his  chain  on 
the  door.  What  a  little  time! 

"But  looking  back  isn't  going  to  do,"  he 


A  HUNDRED  MILES   BELO\V   LEVEL. 

said,  stepping  into  Barbie's  little  porch  and  leav- 
ing the  yellow  and  brown  carpet  behind.  u  Push- 
ing ahead  is  the  only  thing.  If  I  felt  sure  I  could 
ever  do  as  much  of  it  as  Cyp  is  going  to  need!  I 
never  doubted  it  when  I  first  struck  in  at  Brainerd 
and  Gray's,  but  I  've  got  a  little  better  idea  than 
I  had  of  what  things  really  are,  of  the  pushing 
that's  got  to  be  done.  And  as  for  Cyp's  educa- 
tion, his  special  '  trade,'  I  mean,  he  '11  have  to  go 
away  for  that  There's  nothing  here.  Well, 
perhaps  I  can  work  off  with  him  somewhere  by 
that  time.  It  looks  pretty  big  to  me  just  nowv 
that's  a  fact,  but  I  must  stick  the  tighter.  I've 
undertaken  the  thing  for  him  and  there's  no  one 
else.  I  could  stand  any  amount  of  pinches  for 
myself,  but  I  don't  know  how  I  could  ever  en- 
dure it  if  I  found  I  was  scrimping  Cyp." 


Jn.tr*  Tf«Tl«h«m'«  WIT!. 


194  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

HARD  QUESTIONS. 

THE  Havisham  House  was  deserted  once  more 
by  all  but  the  faithful  few  who,  according  to  the 
conditions  of  the  will,  were  "keeping  it  up"  as 
in  the  judge's  day. 

That  amounted,  of  course,  to  a  mere  form  when 
Vivian  was  away,  as  she  was  to  be  now  for  two 
or  three  months  at  least,  and  a  very  empty  and 
annoying  form  she  considered  it  to  be. 

"Such  strange  folly  on  dear  papa's  part, 
Tom,"  she  had  said  to  Mr.  Adriance,  as  she  was 
preparing  to  leave.  "Do you  wonder  that  he  saw 
it  himself  and  intended  to  make  better  plans?" 

"If  there  were  any  better  ones  to  make," 
answered  Tom,  stretching  himself  and  turning  a 
page  of  his  book.  Vivian  was  never  to  entrap 
him  into  saying  he  thought  there  were. 

"Yes,  better  in  every  consideration,"  returned 
Vivian,  ignoring  the  fact  that  Tom's  answer  was 
not  quite  a  positive  one.  ' '  Of  course  I  do  not 
care  to  be  here  after  the  summer  is  past  Why 
should  I,  now -that  papa  is  gone?  There  is  noth- 
ing here.  And  yet  this  retinue  of  people  is  to 
be  kept  in  the  house.  And  Bent  is  getting  to  be 
a  very  old  man  for  the  position  he  holds.  I  think, 


HARD  QUESTIONS.  195 

Tom,  when  I  come  in  the  spring,  I  must  bring 
some  one  to  take  his  place." 

"Well,  now,"  exclaimed  Tom,  rousing  up 
suddenly,  UI  can't  say  I  see  the  point  in  that. 
Bent  is  as  competent  as  he  ever  was,  and  I  don't 
ask  to  see  anything  better.  And  he  has  been 
faithfulness  itself  to  the  family  more  than  half  the 
years  of  his  life." 

Vivian  smiled.  u  Of  course,  Tom;  that  is  the 
very  difficulty.  There  is  such  a  thing,  you  know, 
as  a  limit  to  years;  and  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
style.  You  'don't  ask  to  see  anything  better,' 
with  your  dear  easy  old  way;  but  people  who 
come  here  may  think  that  something  less  anti- 
quated— less  of  a  relic,  you  know —  But  where 
can  I  have  laid  that  paper  I  wanted  to  ask  Mr. 
Wilkie  about  ?  I '  ve  searched  every  cranny  of  my 
desk.  Well,  I'll  let  it  rest  somewhere,  wherever 
it  is,  till  we  return." 

Mr.  Wilkie,  on  his  part,  would  have  been  glad 
to  hear  her  say  so.  He  had  more  papers  and  more 
clients  to  give  thoughts  to  than  he  felt  he  had 
thoughts  to  give.  The  firm  of  Havisham  and 
Wilkie  had  been  too  favorite  a  one  for  many 
clients  to  give  up  after  the  judge's  death,  and  an 
over-accumulation  of  practice  was  upon  Mr.  Wil- 
kie's  hands;  while,  in  the  midst  of  office  pressure, 
his  own  personal  affairs  began  to  assume  trouble- 
some form.  Investments  were  repeatedly  proving 
unfortunate,  and  complications  were  arising  which 


196  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

threatened  to  bring  upon  him  liabilities  which  he 
saw  no  way  to  meet. 

( '  If  things  would  not  crowd  so  in  this  unim- 
aginable way!"  he  repeated  to  himself  twenty 
times.  ''There's  enough  in  that  lead-mine  out 
there  to  clear  everything  up  twice  over,  if  it  could 
be  got  out.  But  everything  at  that  same  lead- 
mine  hangs  fire  so.  This  break-down  of  the  ma- 
chinery that  they  've  reported  just  now  puts  it  all 
back  and  calls  for  more  capital  to  repair  and  start 
again.  It's  a  pretty  hard  knot  that  things  are 
tying  themselves  into  for  me.  If  it  draws  much 
tighter—" 

But  Mr.  Wilkie  did  not  seem  to  like  finishing 
the  sentence.  If  the  knot  should  "draw  much 
tighter,"  he  would  find  himself  in  a  position  that 
it  was  not  pleasant  to  specify  in  words.  To  say 
that  everything  would  be  swept  away  and  he 
should  stand  as  poor  as  when  he  began  life  would 
be  disagreeable  enough ;  but  to  add  what  would 
also  happen,  with  liabilities  that  remained  to 
come  upon  him,  was  still  more  unpleasant. 

Then  he  would  try  to  shake  the  whole  subject 
off  again,  and  trust  to  to-morrow  for  what  to-day 
could  not  seem  to  meet. 

"It  will  work  round  somehow,  of  course,"  he 
would  insist  to  himself.  "There  '11  be  some  way 
out.  '  The  darkest  hour  is  just  before  daylight,'  I 
should  say  to  any  one  else;"  and  he  forced  his 
attention  back  to  other  people's  affairs. 


HARD  QUESTIONS.  197 

Among  these  Wynt's  interests  were  often  up- 
permost, and  he  watched  him  pretty  carefully, 
determined  that  the  least  sign  of  his  being  in  any 
way  the  worse  for  his  experiment  with  Brainerd 
and  Gray  should  take  him  out  and  put  him  wher- 
ever it  seemed  best — into  the  Havisham  House, 
if  it  looked  more  like  that  than  anything  else; 
neither  Vivian  nor  her  fancies  should  be  consid- 
ered if  he  once  made  up  his  mind. 

"I  doubt  if  I  do  it,  though,"  he  was  sure  to 
wind  up  with  saying.  "I  believe  Wynt  would 
chafe  himself  to  death,  with  that  notion  of  his  in 
his  head;  and  you  can't  drive  it  out  It  would 
go  against  my  own  grain,  too,  to  tell  the  truth," 
he  added  one  day  to  Dr.  McPherson,  when  the 
subject  had  been  alluded  to  between  them  confi- 
dentially. 

"You  believe  the  judge  meant  to  take  back 
that  arrangement  about  the  boys,  then?"  the 
doctor  asked. 

"  I  do  n't  half  believe  he  ever  meant  to  take 
back  a  rap's  worth  he  'd  fixed  up  for  them.  You 
can't  make  me  believe  it  But  with  the  pretence 
of  it,  and  what  she  is  otherwise,  that  Mrs.  Adri- 
ance  is  too  much  for  me.  I  don't  want  Wynt 
where  any  such  skirts  can  sweep  over  him.  If 
he'll  just  get  two  or  three  years  older  some  day, 
I  '11  take  him  in  here.  He 's  got  precisely  the  head 
for  it  He  pleaded  his  own  case  here  till  he  got 
his  verdict  from  me,  you  know.  You  would  have 


198  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  wn,i« 

laughed  to  see  the  boy  swoop  down  my  points 
and  set  up  his  own.  He  did  it  well." 

"Well,  I'd  rather  see  him  here  than  han- 
dling tables  and  chairs  the  next  story  below,  it 's 
a  fact.  But  there's  no  money  provided  for  any 
such  plan,  as  I  understand." 

"  No,  but  I  'd  manage  that  easily  enough.  I 
could  advance  what  was  needed  till  he's  twenty- 
one,  and  then  he  could  pay  it  back.  He  '11  have 
to  take  what  belongs  to  him  then,  notions  or  no 
notions." 

"  If  you  can  make  him,"  laughed  the  doctor. 
"He's  beaten  you  once,  and  he  may  again." 

But  Mr.  Wilkie  hardly  heard  him.  He  was 
busy  with  a  miserable  and  most  uncomfortable 
twinge  of  thought  that  had  come  up  as  he  spoke 
of  advancing  anything  Wynt  might  need.  Would 
he  have  anything  to  advance,  by  that  time? 
Might  not  his  own  creditors  be  waiting  for  twice 
what  he  found  himself  able  to  pay  ? 

"  However,"  added  Dr.  McPherson,  as  he  got 
no  reply,  "  Wynt  does  n't  seem  to  be  pining  under 
it  much.  He's  all  right  so  far.  Cyp  's  the  one 
I  am  more  anxiotrs  about." 

"What's  the  matter  with  Cyp?"  asked  Mr. 
Wilkie,  rousing  suddenly. 

u  Oh,  I  don't  think  there 's  anything  the  mat- 
ter with  him;  he'll  weather  it  through.  He's 
moped  a  little  under  the  change;  that 's  all.  You 
can't  expect  him  to  square  at  it,  as  Wynt  has,  of 


HARD  QUESTIONS.  199 

course;  but  a  child  forgets  yesterday,  you  know, 
before  to-day  gets  very  old." 

"Moping,  is  he?"  thought  Mr.  Wilkie,  after 
the  doctor  had  gone;  "I  must  ask  Wynt  about 
that."  But  the  next  time  he  saw  Wynt,  Cyp  was 
with  him;  his  cheeks  were  red  from  a  drive  he 
had  just  had  with  Dr.  Thad,  and  he  asked  Mr. 
Wilkie  why  he  didn't  come  round.  They  had 
jolly  times  with  the  banjo  at  the  room,  he  said. 

"  I  don't  see  much  moping  about  that  young- 
ster," Mr.  Wilkie  thought,  laughing,  as  he  passed 
by;  and  he  let  the  doctor's  suggestion  pass  also. 

Cyp's  red  color  was  gone  again,  however,  in  a 
very  short  time,  and  left  it  at  once  easy  to  notice 
that  there  was  a  paleness  of  the  whole  face  and 
a  faint  blue  circle  under  the  eyes;  not  very 
marked,  but  enough  to  show  the  need  of  a  tonic 
or  a  general  picking  up,  and  making  the  boy  look 
quite  different  from  the  rollicking,  hearty  Cyp  of 
a  few  months  ago. 

Wynt  needed  no  Dr.  McPherson  to  point  out 
the  change  to  him.  He  had  been  watching  it  for 
a  month. 

"I  know  exactly  what  it  is.  Cyp  can't  get 
used  to  things.  He  don't  get  up  a  bit  of  home 
feeling,  and  it  seems  as  if  he  never  would.  I 
thought  he  would  get  reconciled  to  leaving  the 
house,  but  it 's  no  such  thing.  He  pines  for  the 
whole  of  it,  uncle  and  all  the  rest  Oh,  I  wonder 
if  I  was  wrong  to  him  in  packing  him  out  of  it ! 


2oo  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

But  I  should  have  been  wrong  to  other  people  if 
I  hadn't;  and  he  wasn't  happy  there  at  the 
last." 

So  the  little  touch  of  anxiety  Wynt  had  felt  in 
his  new  responsibilities  deepened  and  really  be- 
gan to  weigh.  No  amount  of  "circumstances" 
were  a  matter  of  any  importance  for  him;  he 
could  get  along.  But  if  he  were  making  a 
mistake  for  Cyp !  Or  if  Cyp  was  to  need  any- 
thing he  couldn't  do  !  He  ought  to  be  taken  off 
somewhere  for  a  shaking  up.  If  Vivian  would 
only  have  asked  him  to  go  along ! 

But  he  checked  the  involuntary  thought  al- 
most angrily.  Did  he  want  Cyp  to  go  begging? 
Vivian  might  take  care  of  her  own  affairs,  and  he 
would  take  care  of  Cyjx 


THE  THICK  OF  THE   FIGHT.  2OT 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

THE  THICK  OF  THE   FIGHT. 

CYP  was  not  the  only  perplexity  that  weighed 
upon  Wynt  during  the  next  few  weeks  in  the 
store.  Mr.  Warnock's  "persecution,"  as  Lee 
called  it,  did  not  seem  to  wear  out.  So  far  from 
satisfying  itself  by  the  petty  annoyances  in 
which  it  took  form,  it  rather  grew  by  what  it 
fed  upon,  as  Wynt  could  not  help  confessing  to 
himself.  The  carpet  experiment,  among  others, 
had  been  repeated,  with  a  slight  pretext  not 
unlike  the  first,  and  Wynt  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing as  Lee  came  to  him  about  it  in  renewed 
wrath. 

"Yes,  I  thought  I'd  cleared  off  the  carpet 
score  that  first  time,"  he  said,  ubut  I  suppose 
I  didn't  reckon  the  full  value.  Never  mind, 
though,  I  weigh  more  and  measure  an  inch  taller 
than  I  did  when  I  came  into  the  store;  so  you 
see  he  does  not  harm  me  much." 

But  he  did  not  think  best  to  tell  Lee  of  an- 
other little  experience  that  he  strongly  suspected 
weighed  more  with  his  superior  than  the  lost  car- 
pet sale.  Thanksgiving  Day  had  passed,  and  was 
a  holiday,  of  course.  The  store  was  closed  for 
the  day,  and  all  were  rejoicing,  Wynt  especially 


2O2  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

happy  in  an  invitation  to  the  Wilkies'  for  din- 
ner, which  would  make  Cyp  all  right 

But  he  let  himself  into  the  store  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, early,  to  finish  a  small  piece  of  writing 
that  must  go  off  in  the  mail.  It  was  the  book- 
keeper's business  properly;  but  he  wanted  to  get 
out  of  town  for  the  day,  and  Wynt  had  volun- 
teered. An  unusual  press  of  work  the  night  be- 
fore had  prevented  getting  this  done. 

As  he  sat  on  his  stool  in  the  office  he  could 
just  see  the  front  door,  through  the  office  railing, 
with  a  side  of  the  window  beyond. 

Suddenly  an  eye  came  against  the  glass  from 
outside,  peering  through  the  crack  between  the. 
window  and  the  curtain  within.  The  same  thing 
was  repeated  at  the  door  the  next  moment,  and 
both  movements  were  as  if  to  discover  whether 
any  one  was  inside. 

"I  think  you've  got  left,  sir,  whoever  you 
are, ' '  Wynt  said  with  a  smile  to  himself.  ' '  Brain- 
erd  and  Gray  make  no  sales  to  any  one  to-day." 

He  stooped  over  his  writing  again,  thinking 
the  attempt  had  been  given  up,  when  to  his 
astonishment  a  key  was  slipped  into  the  lock, 
the  door  opened,  and  Warnock  stepped  inside. 
He  walked  quickly  into  the  store  as  far  as  Mr. 
Brainerd's  private  desk,  took  some  keys  from 
his  pocket,  tried  one,  then  another,  hesitated  a 
moment,  then  stooped  to  examine  the  lock,  and 
returned  to  the  key  he  had  first  tried. 


THE  THICK  OF  THE  FIGHT.  203 

Wynt  thought  he  had  seen  enough,  and  as  his 
own  work  was  just  finished,  he  caught  it  up  and 
went  quickly  towards  the  door. 

Warnock's  back  was  towards  him,  and  he  did 
not  seem  to  hear  him  as  he  approached. 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Warnock,"  said  Wynt 
quietly,  lifting  his  hat  as  he  went  by. 

Warnock  started  as  if  struck,  looked  at  Wynt, 
turned  white  and  then  red,  stammered  a  good 
morning  in  return,  and  then,  pretending,  as  it 
seemed  to  Wynt,  to  start  again,  muttered  some 
confused  words  about  having  mistaken  the  desk, 
seeing  his  error  now  that  the  key  did  not  fit,  and 
hurried  away  to  his  own. 

He  kept  clear  of  Wynt  the  next  few  days,  and 
Wynt  kept  his  reflections,  which  were  peculiar 
at  least,  most  carefully  to  himself.  The  sooner 
he  forgot  that  he  had  seen  Warnock  on  Thanks- 
giving morning  the  better,  he  felt  very  sure. 

Petty  annoyances  do  wear,  however,  like  the 
dropping  of  water  on  a  stone,  and  with  those  and 
the  close  confinement,  which  Wynt  had  not  got 
quite  used  to  yet,  and  his  thoughts  about  Cyp 
and  others  about  Lee,  and  the  responsibility 
of  his  own  work,  he  did  find  himself  wondering 
sometimes  if  it  were  the  same  world  he  had  been 
living  in  six  months  before. 

"  It  seems  to  me  I  was  like  the  old  deacon 
who  used  to  *  think  of  nothin','  "  he  laughed  one 
day;  "especially  when  I  meet  the  fellows  coming 


204  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

home  from  school.  I  thought  a  few  lessons  out  of 
those  books  made  a  good  deal  of  work.  I  should 
like  to  play  with  them  a  few  days  now.  I 
wouldn't  go  back,  though.  I  don't  know 
enough,  that's  the  only  trouble;  but  since  work 
has  come  to  me  I  like  it.  Especially,"  he  added, 
"especially  for  Cyp." 

He  was  the  last  one  to  leave  the  store  that 
evening,  at  six  o'clock.  Only  Jem  was  left,  to 
finish  locking  up.  As  he  approached  a  corner 
not  far  from  the  store  door  he  saw  that  a  group 
of  young  fellows  stood  there  quite  in  the  shadow 
of  the  wall,  for  street  lights  were  not  too  numer- 
ous in  Edinburgh.  They  seemed  to  draw  a  little 
closer  together  and  press  farther  back  as  Wynt 
approached,  and  he  instinctively  glanced  towards 
them.  He  looked  away  again  as  quickly.  Lee 
was  one  of  them. 

Lee  joining  any  company  that  wanted  to  keep 
out  of  sight !  Lee  shrinking  away  into  dark- 
ness because  he  did  not  want  to  be  seen  by  him  ! 

Could  he  have  been  mistaken?  No,  he  was 
not  But,  after  all,  was  it  anything  more  than 
Lee  had  really  told  him  of  before? 

He  half  turned  to  go  back  and  pull  him  away. 

Then  he  hurried  on,  confused  and  reproaching 
himself  for  not  having,  somehow,  pulled  him 
away  already  in  all  this  time  ! 

"Suppose  it  were  Cyp!"  he  exclaimed  to 
himself,  "Cyp  at  Lee's  age.  Shouldn't  I  find 


THE  THICK  OF  THE   FIGHT.  205 

some  way  to  persuade  him  out  of  such  a  track  ? 
Lee  's  not  my  brother,  it 's  true — not  in  one  sense 
— but  we  come  pretty  close  together  in  more 
ways  than  one." 

Then  he  found  a  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling 
sweeping  over  him — a  feeling  of  disgust,  almost 
of  loathing.  How  could  Lee  bring  himself  to 
low,  miserable  ways,  whatever  they  might  be? 
He  was  glad  Lee  had  spared  him  any  more  special 
explanation  than  he  had  given. 

He  pushed  open  the  cottage  door  and  went  in 
to  Cyp.  Somehow  Cyp's  eyes  seemed  very  big 
lately  when  he  looked  up  as  Wynt  came  in. 
Had  they  grown  large  or  was  his  face  growing 
small  ? 

"How-d'ye,  old  fellow?"  he  said,  coming  to- 
wards the  table  where  Cyp  sat,  with  pencil  and 
some  crumpled  paper  lying  before  him.  "Let's 
see  your  work." 

"No,  I  couldn't  do  anything.  I  didn't  like 
it,  and  I  scrunched  it  up.  I  say,  Wynt,  I  wish  it 
wouldn't  get  dark  so  long  before  you  come 
home." 

"You  do,  eh?"  And  Wynt  sat  down  beside 
him,  smoothing  out  the  paper  as  he  spoke. 
"What's  the  matter  with  the  dark?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know.  Everything  seems  so 
awfully  empty  till  you  come.  It  seems  as  if  the 
old  big  house  was  round  me,  and  yet  it  isn't,  and 
it's  horridly  still." 


206  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Wynt  shot  a  swift  glance  into  his  brother's 
face.  It  was  the  first  time  Cyp  had  ever  said  any- 
thing like  that 

Of  course  six  o'clock  was  a  very  different 
thing  for  Cyp  from  when  they  first  came  over  to 
the  gate;  Wynt  had  remembered  that,  and  hur- 
ried home  impatiently  every  night.  But  had  the 
youngster  been  sitting  there,  all  these  evenings, 
with  "haunting,  mocking  memories"  for  the 
only  company  he  had?  Pretty  shivery  company 
Wynt  thought  that  was  for  him. 

"(  Awfully  empty,'  is  it?"  he  said  lightly. 
"Well,  hold  on  two  or  three  weeks  and  we're 
past  the  shortest  day,  and  there'll  be  more  light 
and  less  darkness  every  time.  There's  always  a 
little  holding  on  to  do,  you  know,  somewhere. 
Where 's  Barbie  ?  Why  not  go  to  Mab's  and  wait 
for  me,  now  and  then?  I  'd  call  for  you  at  the 
window  when  I  come  by." 

"Oh,  I  do  n't  know.  I  say,  Wynt,  Jem  do  n't 
seem  to  come  there  any  more.  And  when  Mab  's 
not  really  talking  to  you,  when  she 's  only  still,  I 
believe  she 's  thinking  of  it." 

"  Thinking  of  what?  Jem  may  be  there  sev- 
eral hundred  times  without  mentioning  it  to  you. 
And  see  here,  now  !  No  more  good  drawings 
spoiled  in  this  style;  'scrunched,'  do  you  call  it? 
I  want  these  brilliant  designs  of  yours  preserved. 
Come  along  and  get  some  supper,  then." 

The  thought  of  Lee  had  a  new  worry  laid 


THE  THICK  OF  THE   FIGHT.  207 

pretty  heavily  on  top  of  it  now  in  Wynt's  mind. 
If  he  shouldn't  be  able  to  do  the  right  thing  for 
Cyp  !  He  was  not  doing  it  now,  that  seemed 
plain.  But  what  better  could  he  do?  Cyp  might 
come  down  and  meet  him,  as  far  as  that  went 
But  no;  he  might  as  well  be  out  alone  at  nine 
o'clock  as  at  five  at  this  time  of  year. 

However — and  he  brightened  up  a  little  at 
this  thought — Cyp  must  have  his  share  of  that 
"gymnasium  exercise"  Wynt  had  talked  about 
to  Lee.  He  must  learn  to  stand  rubs;  and  per- 
haps the  sooner  he  began  the  better,  after  all. 
But  they  must  not  come  too  hard. 

In  Lee's  case,  though,  it  was  different  "The 
sooner  he  stops  the  better  !"  Wynt  thought;  and 
every  time  he  came  across  Lee  the  next  day  the 
dark  figures  crowding  against  the  wall  haunted 
him. 


208  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL,. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BATTLING   FOR  LEE. 

WYNT  had  no  opportunity  for  words,  however, 
till  the  day  was  nearly  past  Then  Warnock  sent 
him  down  stairs  for  a  miserable  dusty  piece  of 
work  at  the  furnace — Jem's  business  and  no  one's 
else;  but  there  was  some  excuse,  as  usual,  about 
haste. 

Lee  was  in  a  small  packing-room  adjoining, 
getting  a  delicate  piece  of  furniture  ready  for 
freight. 

Wynt  finished  his  work  and  then  went,  sprin- 
kled with  ashes,  straight  to  Lee.  "So  it  seems, 
Lee,"  he  said  steadily,  "you  did  not  find  it  very 
bad  being  watched,  and  you  try  hiding  as  the 
next  step  in  '  enjoying  yourself.'  " 

Lee  started  and  flushed  crimson.  "So  you 
did  see  me.  I — was  n'  t  sure. ' ' 

"And  you  hoped  I  did  n't !  You  did  not  want 
me  to!" 

Lee  did  not  answer. 

"Will  you  tell  me  who  those  fellows  were? 
I  wont  say  those  friends  of  yours." 

Lee  stiffened  up  a  little.  "One  of  them  at 
least  was  a  friend  of  yours.  You  know  Hal  Eric- 


BATTLING  FOR  LEE.  2Og 

son  as  well  as  I  do,  and  he  is  as  much  a  gentle- 
man's son  as  either  of  us." 

Wynt  felt  as  if  foundations  were  slipping  away 
from  him.  Hal  Ericson  !  Had  he  come  to  hiding 
in  street  corners  too?  "He's  not  behaving  like 
a  gentleman  then,  whatever  he  is.  Will  you  tell 
me  who  the  rest  were?" 

"No.  You  would  n't  know  them  if  I  did.  I 
told  you  the  other  day  they  were  out  of  your 
range." 

"And  I  told  you  they  were  out  of  yours.  Will 
you  tell  me  what  you  were  doing  with  them, 
then?" 

L,ee  hesitated.  The  truth  was  he  had  felt  a 
vague  sort  of  terror  about  himself  stealing  in  of 
late.  He  had  half  a  mind  to  tell  Wynt  just  where 
he  stood.  u  It 's  a  quicksand  sort  of  feeling,"  he 
had  repeated  once  or  twice  to  himself.  ' '  I  never 
meant  to  go  very  deep,  but  it  is  a  little  deeper  all 
the  time.  I  may  get  where  I  'd  like  to  feel  bot- 
tom by-and-by." 

Still,  to  get  out  of  it  was  to  settle  down  to 
plodding  for  ever  on  the  "  old  mill "  floor. 

Suddenly  he  took  his  resolution.  "Yes,  I 
wz//tell  you,"  he  said.  "They  were  telling  Hal 
and  me  about  a  place  where  there 's  money  to  be 
made  by  cards." 

"And  what  then?" 

"Well,  if  I  could  have  luck,  I  might  make 
enough  to  get  away  from  here  and  strike  out  for 

Ju<U«  H«TUh«u'»  Will.  I A 


2io  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL,. 

myself  somewhere,  enough  to  have  some  amuse- 
ment as  I  go  along,  at  least." 

uNow,  Lee,"  and  Wynt  was  looking  him 
steadily  in  the  eyes,  "you've  just  got  one  choice 
to  make,  mighty  soon  too.  You  've  got  to  choose 
between  all  this  miserable  lot  of  stuff  and  me !" 

Lee's  eyes  dilated  with  a  frightened  look. 
"You  don't  mean  to  say  you  wont  be  my 
friend?" 

"No;  I '11  always  be  your  friend.  But  there 's 
no  comfort  in  the  friendship  any  more.  We  can't 
do  it.  You  can't  enjoy  me  and  a  set  of  fellows 
like  that  at  the  same  time;  and  I  can't  take  any 
satisfaction  in  you.  So  it's  good-by  to  one  or 
the  other." 

4 '  Wynt, ' '  cried  Lee,  greatly  distressed,  * '  you '  re 
the  only  person  or  thing  I  do  take  'satisfaction'  in 
in  the  world.  Can't  you  see  there  are  two  of  me? 
The  best  of  me  sticks  to  you  like  ten  thousand 
burrs;  it's  the  other  fellow  that's  m  all  this 
mess." 

"No,  there  are  not  two  of  you.  You  are 
Lee  Brainerd,  and  making  what  you  can  of  him 
as  you  go.  If  you  choose  to  say  there  are  two 
sides  to  him,  the  mud  you  drag  one  side  of  him 
in  will  stick  to  the  other;  that's  all.  Come,  Lee! 
What  do  you  say?" 

At  that  instant  the  door  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs  opened,  and  Warnock  came  rattling  over 
them  with  his  usual  rapid  step.  He  glanced 


BATTLING   FOR   LEE.  211 

towards  the  furnace,   and   then   stepped  to   the 
packing-room  door. 

"Ah  !"  he  said,  with  the  sneering  smile  both 
Wynt  and  L/ee  so  hated  to  see,  "when  you  can 
attend  to  the  furnace,  Havisham,  there  is  work 
up  stairs." 

"I  have  done  so  already,"  answered  Wynt, 
with  a  glance  at  his  besprinkled  clothes,  and  turn- 
ing towards  the  stairs. 

"  You  have,  indeed  !  Then  is  there  any  call 
for  your  services  just  here?" 

"  None  that  I  know  of." 

"Ah!"  and  the  smile  curled  still  more  disa- 
greeably.  ' '  Then  there  is  a  customer  waiting  in 
the  carpet  room.  Go  and  show  carpets  till  I  come 
up,  if  you  please." 

Wynt  sprang  up  the  stairs.  The  clothes-brush 
that  should  hang  at  the  head  of  them  was  nowhere 
to  be  seen.  "  I  believe  in  my  heart  he  has  hidden 
it !"  Wynt  exclaimed  mentally.  It  certainly  was 
not  there,  and  Warnock  had  stood  firmly  with  his 
back  against  the  little  closet  where  Wynt  could 
have  found  water  for  his  hands. 

He  went  on,  besmirched  and  dusty.  "  I  won- 
der who  it  will  prove  to  be,"  was  all  he  had  time 
for,  the  carpet  section  lying  close  against  the 
door. 

Mrs.  Archer,  of  all  people  in  the  world !  She 
was  one  of  Vivian's  most  fashionable  acquaint- 
ances, and  had  smiled  on  Wynt  at  the  Havisham 


212  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

dinner-table  hardly  six  months  before.  She  did 
not  patronize  Edinburgh  warehouses  much,  but 
she  was  here  to-day,  her  dress  elegant  enough 
for  even  Vivian's  taste,  and  her  carriage  at  the 
door. 

Wynt  saw  the  whole  thing  in  an  instant 
Warnock  had  sent  him  up  to  show  himself,  but 
he  would  be  following  on  in  an  instant;  he  would 
not  make  Mrs.  Archer  over  to  any  one  else. 

Wynt  took  the  flash  of  a  second  to  collect 
himself,  and  then  stepped  up  to  her  exactly  as  he 
would  have  done  at  home.  u  I  beg  your  pardon, 
Mrs.  Archer.  I  was  given  no  time,  or  I  would 
not  have  brought  dust  and  ashes  into  your  service. 
Can  I  serve  you  in  any  way  ?" 

In  an  instant  Mrs.  Archer  had  given  him  one 
of  her  most  brilliant  smiles,  and  held  out  a  hand 
delicately  gloved.  "Invisible  dust,  I  am  sure, 
Wynt, ' '  she  said.  ' ( But  if  there  were  any  amount 
of  it,  it  would  be  lost  in  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
you.  Don't  spoil  me,  though.  Are  you  sure  this 
is  your  work?  I  don't  get  a  young  gentleman 
to  show  me  carpets  every  day." 

"  Do  n't  you  ?"  laughed  Wynt.  "  I  '11  show 
them  to  you  every  day  with  pleasure,  if  you  will 
come  in.  I'm  not  as  well  '  up '  as  some  of  the 
rest,  but  still — "  and  he  began  to  pull  out  some 
rolls. 

It  was  just  as  he  expected.  He  had  scarcely 
sent  two  rolls  flying  when  Warnock' s  step  was 


BATTLING  FOR  LEE.  21$ 

heard  running  up  the  stairs,  and  he  opened  the 
door. 

"Excuse  me,  Mrs.  Archer,",  he  began,  with 
his  most  obsequious  smile,  stepping  directly  in 
front  of  Wynt  and  forcing  him  to  one  side;  "  I  was 
detained  for  one  instant.  You  will  excuse  an 
incompetent  salesman  for  the  moment,  I  am  sure, 
I  have  something  very  handsome,  just  in  this 
morning,  that  I  can  show  you  now." 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Warnock,  you  are  very 
kind,"  said  Mrs.  Archer  gracefully,  but  with 
none  of  the  cordiality  she  had  given  Wynt;  "but 
if  you  will  excuse  me,  Mr.  Havisham  is  doing 
exceedingly  well.  It  will  really  be  a  favor  if  you 
will  allow  him.  We  are  old  friends,  you  know;" 
and  she  gave  Warnock  a  smile  that  ought  to  have 
let  the  arrow  go  in  softly,  but  it  did  not 

He  reddened,  made  some  inaudible  reply,  and 
turned  away. 

u  Now,  Wynt,  we  have  the  floor!  See  if  you 
can  suit  a  fastidious  customer  for  Brainerd  and 
Gray." 

Warnock  occupied  himself  as  he  best  could 
for  the  next  half-hour,  he  hardly  knew  how. 
Then  he  saw  Mrs.  Archer  pass  out  of  the  store, 
Wynt  holding  the  door  for  her,  and  her  carriage 
drive  away.  Then  he  saw  Wynt  go  up  and  pass 
in  a  check  for  a  larger  sum  than  Warnock  had 
got  from  a  day's  sales  in  the  last  six  months. 

Wynt  went  back  to  his  stool  with  a  very  queer 


214  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

feeling,  after  this.  "  Carpets  for  ever !"  he  whis- 
pered to  himself  with  a  half-laugh.  ' '  It  does 
seem  as  if  fate  were  making  them  a  stumbling- 
block  between  Warnock  and  me.  I  shall  hear 
from  this.  But  it  was  not  my  fault;  and  I  had  a 
good  time,  at  least." 

If  he  had,  Warnock  certainly  had  not,  and  he 
never  forgave.  His  attempt  to  humiliate  Wynt 
had  humiliated  himself  instead,  and  the  wound 
rankled.  He  had  very  little  to  do  with  Wynt  the 
next  day,  but  his  brow  lowered  if  he  even  saw 
him  coming  near. 

Wynt  was  not  in  the  least  surprised  at  this, 
but  it  suddenly  seemed  to  him  that  there  was  a 
coolness  on  Mr.  Brainerd's  part,  instead  of  a 
marked  kindness,  almost  cordiality,  which  had 
grown  steadily  since  Wynt  entered  the  store. 
To-day  it  seemed  to  Wynt  that  some  inexplicable 
change  had  come  over  his  manner,  though  not  a 
word  was  said. 

"  Well,  it 's  a  good  thing  to  have  a  clear  con- 
science," he  thought.  "  He  certainly  can't  be 
put  out  about  that  check  yesterday,  as  Warnock 
was.  It  must  be  a  fancy  of  mine.  He  may  have 
a  thousand  worries  that  I  don't  know  of.  But  it 
really  seemed  to  me  as  if  he  gave  me  almost  a 
suspicious  look  once  to-day." 

Mr.  Brainerd,  so  far  from  being  "put  out" 
about  the  check,  had  spoken  of  it  with  much 
satisfaction  to  his  managing  clerk.  ' '  Havisham 


BATTLING  FOR  LEE.  215 

is  doing  very  well;  I  don't  know  but  we  had 
better  take  him  out  of  the  office  and  make  a  sales- 
man of  him  altogether,"  he  said.  "  In  fact,  I  'm 
not  sure  but  we  may  owe  Mrs.  Archer's  visit  to 
his  being  here. ' ' 

Warnock's  own  peculiar  smile  spread  over  his 
face.  ' '  In  that  case, ' '  he  answered  insinuatingly, 
"it  might  be  a  good  plan  to  put  Lee  into  the 
office,  and  balance  things  again." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Mr.  Brainerd, 
looking  quickly  into  his  face. 

"Oh,  not  very  much.  Only  two  boys  are  not 
always  sure  to  help  each  other  along,  if  they  're 
thrown  together  too  much." 

"Not  help  each  other?  Perhaps  not,  but  I 
have  felt  Havisham  would  be  a  help  to  Lee. 
L,ee  's  not  likely  to  be  very  much  help  to  anyone, 
I'm  sorry  to  say.  But  Havisham — I've  seen 
only  what  gives  me  confidence  in  him." 

"  Yes;  a  dark,  still  face  is  a  good  cover,"  said 
Warnock,  with  an  almost  imperceptible  sneer,  as 
he  turned  to  move  away. 

But  Mr.  Brainerd  stopped  him.  "Now,  War- 
nock,  please  to  explain  yourself.  If  you  say  as 
much  as  that,  be  kind  enough  to  say  more.  I  am 
not  fond  of  hints,  you  know." 

"I  beg  your  pardon;  I  was  scarcely  aware  of 
giving  one.  I  don't  like  to  speak  of  personal 
matters,  but — in  fact,  I  don't  think  he  has  im- 
proved since  Havisham  came  into  the  store." 


2i6  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"  He  certainly  has  n't,  I  'm  sorry  to  say.  But 
what  has  Havisham  to  do  with  that?" 

Warnock  gave  a  slight  shrug. 

"  Have  you  seen  anything  that  looks  like  it?" 
persisted  Mr.  Brainerd. 

"Well,  since  you  insist  on  it,  I  think  there  is 
something  between  them.  They  certainly  have 
very  earnest  side  conversations  now  and  then,  and 
things  don't  go  any  better  afterwards.  Evening 
before  last — I  really  don't  like  to  speak  of  it,  but 
there  was  something  rather  marked — Lee  got  in 
with  a  very  poor  set  of  fellows,  as  I  happened  to 
see,  hanging  about  in  a  shadow  somewhere,  and 
Havisham  very  soon  came  along.  He  only  made 
a  little  movement  towards  them,  and  stopped  long 
enough  for  a  few  words  to  have  passed.  He  was 
very  cautious,  but  there  seemed  some  understand- 
ing; and  I  was  still  more  sure  of  it  yesterday  when 
I  caught  them  together  in  the  packing-room,  evi- 
dently in  a  very  private  talk,  and  very  much  con- 
fused when  I  appeared.  Havisham — "  and  War- 
nock  disappeared  to  meet  a  customer. 

Mr.  Brainerd  was  thoroughly  roused  now. 
Lee  had  been  a  heavy  anxiety  to  him  of  late,  but 
he  was  really  angry  at  last.  This  was  the  first 
distinct  story  that  had  come  to  him  from  outside, 
and  not  much  of  a  story,  either,  but  it  meant  more 
than  it  told.  And  Havisham  in  it  too !  Was  it 
possible  Warnock  was  right  ? 

In  another  five  minutes  Lee  found  himself 


BATTLING   FOR   LEE.  217 

summoned  to  his  father's  private  office  and  the 
door  closed  behind  him.  Now  for  it !  he  thought. 
It  never  rained  but  it  poured.  He  had  been  sim- 
ply miserable  since  his  talk  with  Wynt,  and  now 
here  was  his  father,  evidently  with  something 
disagreeable  to  say. 

"Lee,  what  were  you  and  Havisham  doing 
together  in  the  packing-room  yesterday  after- 
noon?" 

"I  was  busy  there,  and  Wynt  stopped  at  the 
door  to  speak  to  me." 

1 '  And  what  was  he  speaking  to  you  about,  if 
you  have  no  objection  to  letting  me  know  ?" 

Lee's  face  paled  suddenly.  The  recollection 
of  the  whole  thing  had  half  sickened  him 
•whenever  he  had  thought  of  it  since.  To  lose 
Wynt's  respect,  Wynt's  friendship  !  No;  Wynt 
had  promised  he  should  not  lose  that,  but  how 
could  he  tell  ?  And  now — what  was  coming  now? 

"Then  you  do  object?"  asked  Mr.  Brainerd, 
as  Lee  did  not  reply. 

"Yes,  sir,  I  do." 

"  Then  suppose  you  put  your  objections  aside, 
or  tell  me  in  spite  of  them." 

Lee  was  silent  again. 

"Well?"  persisted  Mr.  Brainerd. 

"I'd  rather  not  People  don't  always  care 
to  tell  what  they  are  talking  about  I  don't,  at 
least." 

"Then  suppose  I  ask  Havisham?" 


2i8  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

A  sudden  terror  seized  Lee.  He  did  not  want 
Wynt  dragged  into  any  trouble.  u  Oh,  do  n't  do 
that !"  he  exclaimed,  and  then  added  suddenly, 
u  But  he  would  never  tell." 

The  next  moment  he  saw  that  he  had  made  a 
mistake,  and  added  hastily,  UI  mean  to  say,  it 
was  more  my  affair  than  his." 

uAnd  is  he  specially  concerned  in  your  af- 
fairs?" 

"  In  some  of  them.  That  is  to  say,  he — do  n't 
ask  me,  if  you  please.  He  certainly  does  his  duty 
in  the  store." 

"  Possibly;  but  I  want  men  who  do  their  duty 
out  of  it  as  well  as  in.  And  one  thing  further  I 
have  to  say.  I  have  more  idea  what  that  conver- 
sation was  about  than  you  think,  and  I  want  no 
more  such  reports  coming  in.  I  can  do  without 
either  you  or  Havisham  in  the  store  very  well; 
and  as  for  you,  perhaps  you  would  like  the  Perch 
better,  if  you  can't  find  good  company,  and  keep 
it,  nearer  home." 

I^ee  went  away  if  possible  a  little  more  miser- 
able than  before  and  with  a  confused  feeling  that 
he  could  not  tell  what  anything  meant.  He  was 
getting  somewhat  used  to  "little  breezes,"  as  he 
called  them,  of  this  kind  with  his  father,  but  he 
had  never  seen  him  really  angry  before;  and  how 
he  could  have  any  idea  of  Wynt's  talk  with  him 
was  beyond  his  guess. 

"  But  why  should  he  be  angry  with  Wynt  for 


BATTLING   FOR   LEE.  219 

preaching  to  me?  That's  more  than  I  can  see 
through.  He  might  better  be  thankful  to  him, 
for  it 's  the  only  tether  that 's  holding  me  in  very 
much.  And  the  Perch  !  I'm  not  much  afraid  of 
that.  He  has  trouble  enough  trying  to  make  a 
farm  out  of  that  old  granite  hill  with  five  miles 
of  cobblestone  fence,  without  trying  to  make  a 
fanner  of  me.  It  would  be  working  harder  soil 
than  he  has  now.  But  I  can't  stand  it  with 
Wynt  thinking  as  he  does  of  me.  I  think  I  '11  let 
Ericson  and  the  rest  alone  for  a  while,  and  see 
how  it  seems.  But  it  will  not  be  for  fear  of  the 
Perch." 


22O  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

TROUBLE  FOR  CYP. 

MATTERS  seemed  to  quiet  down  a  little  at  the 
store  for  the  next  two  or  three  weeks,  and  then 
came  Christmas  holidays,  and  Wynt  was  more 
than  thankful  when  Mrs.  Lewyn  Havisham  invi- 
ted Cyp  and  himself  to  spend  the  week  with  her. 

He  could  get  but  two  days  at  the  utmost,  but 
he  cared  very  little  about  that;  it  was  Cyp's 
Christmas  that  had  been  distressing  him.  How 
he  was  ever  going  to  get  him  over  it  he  had  not 
known. 

Not  that  there  would  be  the  least  word  of 
complaint  from  Cyp;  that  was  not  his  way.  But 
it  would  be  a  tough  tussle  for  him  with  those 
ghosts  of  memories;  and  it  would  seem  ''horridly 
still,"  Wynt  feared,  in  spite  of  his  own  best 
attempts. 

There  was  no  stillness  in  Mrs.  Lewyn' s  wide- 
awake, sunshiny,  cordial  little  establishment, 
which  seemed  to  Cyp  vast  and  spacious  after  Bar- 
bie's, and  which  was  full  and  running  over  with 
entertainment  that  had  been  planned  for  him. 
Wynt  watched  the  sparkle  coming  back  into  his 
eyes  with  a  peculiar  feeling — a  great  relief  and 
pleasure,  that  had  a  quick  pang  under  it,  after 


TROUBLE   FOR  CYP.  221 

all.  Cyp's  eyes  used  to  sparkle  all  the  time. 
They  never  used  to  need  brightening  up  until  he 
tried  to  take  care  of  him. 

Mrs.  Lewyn  had  some  similar  reflections  also, 
for  she  was  too  keen-sighted  a  little  woman  to 
mistake  surface  shining  for  a  steady  light  under- 
neath. She  had  needed  but  one  look  into  Cyp's 
face  when  he  arrived  to  tell  her  some  secrets  she 
had  had  her  misgivings  about  before.  She  saw 
the  sharpening  down  from  the  merry  outline  it 
used  to  have,  and  she  saw  the  dark  lines  under 
the  eyes  and  the  expression  that  comes  of  not 
saying  much  about  what  one  feels  the  most 

"Wynt,"  she  said  lightly,  as  Wynt's  two 
days  drew  to  a  close,  "I  wish  you  would  leave 
me  that  boy  until  spring.  Couldn't  you  live 
without  him  ?  Do  you  know  what  I  have  to  do? 
I  have  to  live  without  Mr.  Havisham  for  the  next 
two  years.  That  business  of  his  in  Manilla  wants 
looking  after.  It  always  does  when  he  leaves  it 
and  I  think  I  have  him  really  at  home.  He 
goes  back  once  more,  and  talks  about  two  years. 
Think  of  me !  And  neither  chick  nor  child  of 
my  own.  Lend  me  Cyp  a  little  while.  Can't 
you  think  of  it?" 

Wynt  hesitated.  Her  few  words  had  said  a 
good  many  things  at  once,  and  one  of  them  was 
she  thought  Cyp  needed  something  that  Wynt 
could  not  himself  do  for  him. 

"  You  think  he  needs  it,"  he  said  quietly. 


222  JUDGE   HAVISHA'M'S  WIU*. 

u  Why,  I  want  him,  Wyut !  But  still,  to  tell 
the  whole  truth,  I  would  not  ask  him  away  from 
you  out  of  pure  selfishness.  Are  you  quite  sure 
he  is  not  a  little  solitary  there  at  the  gate?  He 
has  lost  a  great  deal,  you  know.  He  is  not  the 
child  to  forget  that,  and  I  >m  afraid  he  broods  a 
little  while  you  are  away.  There  must  be  odd 
hours  out  of  school  when  he  misses  you  a  good 
deal.  Saturdays,  perhaps,  too?" 

Wynt  felt  as  if  some  miserable  weight  were 
laid  suddenly  at  his  throat.  These  things  that  he 
had  been  trying  not  to  make  much  of  himself 
even  a  stranger  could  see  ! 

"  I  am  afraid  you  are  quite  right,"  he  replied, 
looking  back  into  her  eyes  steadily;  "as  right  as 
you  are  kind.  I  would  do  without  him,  of  course, 
if—" 

1  *  If  you  were  sure  he  would  be  happy  ?  Well, 
sound  him  about  it  a  little.  He  can  be  thinking 
of  it  for  the  rest  of  the  week." 

Wynt  went  directly  to  find  him.  "Cyp,"  he 
said,  "by  the  end  of  the  week  you'll  be  more  at 
home  here  than  you  condescend  to  feel  at  the  gate, 
I'm  afraid." 

Cyp  laughed.  "  It 's  awfully  jolly,  of  course. 
It  would  be  better  than  anything  but  the  house, 
if  you  could  stay.  But  I  can  stand  it  till  New 
Year's  without  you,  of  course." 

u  Can  you  !  That 's  flattering  to  Mrs.  Lewyn. 
And  she  flatters  you  in  return,  by  wishing  you 


TROUBLE  FOR  CYP.  223 

would  stay  until  spring.     How  would  you  like 
that?" 

To  his  amazement  Cyp  threw  himself  upon 
him  and  broke  into  an  agony  of  trouble,  such  as 
he  had  seen  no  sign  of  since  the  first  terrible 
weeks  when  their  grief  was  new. 

"Don't,  Wynt!  I  wish  you  wouldn't  say 
things  to  me!  I  wish  you  wouldn't  talk  about 
things,  nor  make  me  talk.  I  can  stand  it  all  if 
I  can  keep  still.  But  I  '11  never  stay  away  from 
you.  I  should  die  if  I  did.  I  most  die,  as  it  is, 
without  uncle  and  the  house;  but  I  'm  just  living 
on  you,  don't  you  know?" 

Wynt  soothed  him  and  assured  him  it  was 
only  for  his  own  choice,  and  that  he  should  not 
know  how  to  live  at  the  gate  without  him,  and 
he  should  never  let  him  stay  away  long  unless 'he 
wished  it  very  much;  but  it  was  some  time,  even 
then,  before  Cyp  was  himself  again.  Things  had 
been  pent  up  too  long  to  quiet  down  in  a  moment 
when  a  gap  was  once  opened  to  let  them  free. 

As  for  Wynt,  it  was  ten  times  worse  for  him. 
"Oh,  Cyp  !"  he  found  himself  saying  silently,  as 
he  held  him  with  a  quick,  intense  pressure  for 
one  instant  close,  u  I  've  said  I  'd  hold  on  to  you 
tighter  the  harder  things  pulled,  and  now  I  don't 
know  but  I  ought  to  let  you  go.  I  'm  doing  you 
more  harm  than  good." 

But  still  if  Cyp  would  not  be  let  go,  what  could 
he  do  then  ? 


224  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

It  was  all  out  of  sight  again,  however,  before 
Mrs.  Lewyn  was  encountered,  and  she  had  not  a 
suspicion  of  the  little  whirlwind  her  invitation 
had  aroused.  She  sent  Cyp  gayly  back  to  Wynt 
at  the  end  of  the  week,  with  many  messages  of 
regret  at  letting  him  go  and  the  assurance  that 
he  was  fifty  per  cent,  more  of  a  boy  than  he  had 
been  a  week  ago. 

And  so  life  began  again  in  the  old  way,  rub- 
bing along  in  the  every-day  rut,  with  no  change 
except  Wynt's  increasing  impression  that  Mr. 
Brainerd  looked  upon  him  with  a  very  doubtful 
sort  of  feeling,  not  to  say  dislike. 

He  tormented  himself  to  find  a  reason,  but  in 
vain,  and  so  one  more  trouble  was  added  to  his 
regret  and  pain  about  I/ee,  his  anxiety  about 
Cyp,  and  the  annoyances  that  Warnock  found 
more  and  more  constant  opportunities  to  invent. 

' '  I  can  walk  right  over  all  Warnock  can  do  to 
me,  though,"  he  used  to  say  to  himself ;  "but  I 
must  say  Mr.  Brainerd  worries  me.  If  he  would 
only  once  say  a  word,  I  could  have  it  out  with 
him  and  find  out  what's  the  matter.  But  I  can't 
very  well  walk  up  to  him  and  ask  whether  he  likes 
me  or  not." 

Lee,  however,  was  a  little  comfort.  He  seemed 
quieter  in  every  way,  and  had  a  fashion  of  getting 
near  Wynt  whenever  he  could  and  standing 
about  without  a  word,  but  with  something  inde- 
finable in  his  manner  that  seemed  to  ask  if  he 


TROUBLE   FOR  CYP.  22$ 

might;  and  he  spent  now  and  then  an  evening  at 
Wynt's  room,  to  Cyp's  great  satisfaction,  and 
none  the  less  to  Wynt's. 

Whatever  feeling  Mr.  Brainerd  had,  mean- 
time, was  carefully  fostered  by  Mr.  Warnock  and 
increased  by  delicate  nursing  as  rapidly  as  pru- 
dence would  allow.  There  was  no  need  of  haste. 
What  he  was  so  sure  of  accomplishing  he  could 
wait  for  the  right  opportunity  to  allow.  Lee  was 
dropping  his  sail  for  a  little  while  just  now,  but 
that  was  not  likely  to  last;  and  with  the  next 
breeze  that  tempted  him  off  Havisham  might 
Very  possibly  find  himself  out  at  sea. 


SOUTH  f 

: 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 


J-..'r»TT»Tfrtiiin'i  Win.  I  5 


226  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

TEMPTATION,    AND  A  SCORE  TO  PAY. 

MEANTIME  Mr.  Wilkie's  perplexities  seemed 
to  thicken  rather  than  disperse,  so  far  as  his  per- 
sonal affairs  were  concerned.  Threatened  losses 
became  actual  ones;  one  struggle  after  another  to 
better  things  proved  in  vain,  and  one  claim  after 
another  that  he  found  himself  unable  to  meet 
pressed  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  day  of  its  de- 
mand. 

In  the  midst  of  it  all  letters  from  the  lead- 
mine  began  to  arrive  urging  a  plan  for  increase 
of  working  capital,  and  doubling  and  redoubling 
assurances  that  with  this  new  ability  to  develop 
the  treasures  of  the  mine  large  revenues  were 
certain  to  come  in. 

Every  fresh  suggestion  of  this  kind  only  in- 
creased Mr.  Wilkie's  mental  disturbance. 

"A  year  ago,"  he  thought,  "I  could  have 
met  this  demand  without  a  second  thought 
Now,  when  the  mine  is  my  only  hope,  my  only 
way  out  of  all  this  danger,  I  cannot  command 
the  trifling  amount  necessary  to  dig  at  what  is 
there. 

"  And  it  is  there,"  he  added.  "  There  is  no 
question  of  it — a  fortune,  and  a  handsome  one. 


TEMPTATION,    AND   A   SCORE   TO  PAY.       227 

Ease  and  independence  if  I  get  at  it,  and  debt 
and  dishonor  if  I  do  not;  for  I  call  debt  and  dis- 
honor the  same  thing  when  it  comes  to  saying 
that  your  debts  can't  be  paid." 

There  was  just  one  consideration  that  eased 
the  matter:  the  thing  need  not  be  decided 
quite  yet.  A  month  or  so  later  would  be  in 
time,  and  something  might  turn  up  in  the  mean- 
while. 

And  in  that  meantime  he  must  keep  mind  and 
thoughts  clear  and  free  for  other  people  and  their 
affairs,  and  Wynt  and  Cyp  were  not  forgotten 
among  them.  He  met  Wynt  not  unfrequently 
near  the  foot  of  his  stairs  and  stopped  for  a  few 
words. 

"  Not  ready  to  give  up  yet,  Wynt?"  he  asked 
once  or  twice. 

"Not  yet,"  Wynt  always  answered;  "I 
have  n't  done  much  '  holding  on '  yet" 

"I'm  not  sure  but  you  have,"  Mr.  Wilkie 
returned,  looking  scrutinizingly  into  his  face. 
"And  I  don't  want  too  much  of  it,  either.  Too 
much  is  never  good,  you  know.  How's  Cyp 
doing  with  his  share?" 

The  look  Mr.  Wilkie  had  been  sure  he  de- 
tected, as  if  some  pressure  were  being  silently 
carried,  deepened  suddenly  in  Wynt's  face. 

"He's  sticking  to  it  all  right,"  he  answered, 
"but  I'm  not  sure  it's  good  for  him,  all  the 
same." 


228  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Mr.  Wilkie 
quickly. 

"I  think  he  pines  for  old  times  a  good  deal; 
but  I  don't  see  any  way  to  bring  them  back  for 
all  that." 

Mr.  Wilkie  looked  thoughtful.  "You  could 
bring  back  part  of  them  if  you  would  go  into  the 
old  house,  Wynt,"  he  said. 

Wynt  felt  himself  almost  draw  back,  away 
from  the  words.  How  could  Mr.  Wilkie  torture 
him  so?  Go  back  into  the  house?  The  one 
thing  he  could  do,  and  yet  the  one  thing  he  could 
not  do,  for  Cyp. 

' '  If  you  will  show  me  that  that  would  be 
right,  I'll  go  there,  Mr.  Wilkie.  In  the  mean- 
time I  would  stand  out  in  the  street  for  him,  if  it 
would  do  any  good." 

"Well,  send  him  up  to  see  me  in  a  day  or 
two,"  said  Mr.  Wilkie,  waiving  the  subject 
hastily.  "I'd  like  to  see  what  I  can  make  out 
of  him  for  myself.  By  the  way,  is  anything 
heard  of  Mrs.  Adriance  planning  to  return  at 
present?" 

"  I  can 't  tell  you.  Bent  has  a  letter  now  and 
then,  with  some  orders  or  other,  but  she  has  not 
spoken  of  coming  as  far  as  I  know." 

"Not  before  April,  I  presume.  There  are 
better  things  than  an  Edinburgh  winter  in  life, 
you  know." 

"Those    youngsters   are    both    feeling   their 


TEMPTATION,    AND  A  SCORE   TO  PAY.      229 

fight,  I  don't  doubt,"  the  lawyer  continued  to 
himself  as  he  watched  Wynt  out  of  sight  *  *  They 
stand  up  to  it  bravely,  for  there 's  not  an  inch  of 
white  feather  in  either  of  them;  but  Cyp  at  least 
mustn't  get  too  much  of  it  Yet  I  can't  put 
them  into  that  great  empty  house  alone  in  the 
dead  of  winter.  They're  better  off  with  Barbie 
than  there.  Somehow  the  judge  did  manage  to 
make  an  uncomfortable  jumble  of  things." 

Wynt  sent  Cyp  up;  but  he  came  in  so  fresh 
from  the  cold  and  put  on  such  a  boastful  little 
air  whenever  the  subject  of  u  keeping  bachelor's 
hall,"  as  Mr.  Wilkie  called  it,  was  approached, 
that  Mr.  Wilkie  could  not  help  laughing,  and 
concluded  that  the  boy  was  all  right  and  that  he 
could  settle  the  question  of  lead-mines  before  he 
troubled  himself  very  much  about  him. 

That  question  seemed  hard  to  settle  though. 
A  few  thousand  dollars  the  lead-mine  must  have 
or  it  would  yield  him  nothing.  Given  the  few 
thousand,  a  hundred  thousand,  to  all  human  cer- 
tainty, would  come  back.  But  where  were  these 
few  thousand  coming  from  ? 

He  turned  to  other  people's  papers  and  tried 
to  leave  his  own  affairs  behind;  but  they  faced 
him  in  spite  of  himself  with  a  miserable  sicken- 
ing sensation  that  increased  the  longer  it  hung 
about 

At  last  he  took  up  hastily  some  papers  relating 
to  some  "trust  funds"  that  had  been  placed  in 


230  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

his  hands,  and  a  suggestion  came  as  hastily  into 
his  mind.  Why  not  borrow  these  funds  ?  They 
were  exactly  what  he  needed  to  save  him  from 
this  great  distress. 

Why  not!  For  every  reason.  Among  the 
first,  the  same  that  would  prevent  him  from  bor- 
rowing the  amount  anywhere  else.  He  himself 
felt  sure  it  would  be  safe.  Other  people  would 
call  it  a  great  risk. 

But  safe  or  not  safe,  there  was  disgrace  and 
wrong  legally,  if  not  socially  speaking,  in  such 
use  of  a  trust;  and  he  pushed  the  papers  away 
almost  as  if  they  had  stung  him.  To  betray  a 
trust !  The  very  thought  was  detestable. 

Another  month  came  and  went.  February 
had  come  in  and  was  almost  gone,  and  April  was 
not  so  very  far  away.  April  might  bring  the 
Adriances,  and  Wynt  rejoiced  from  his  very  heart 
at  the  thought. 

Cyp  might  get  over  his  notion  about  keeping 
shy  of  the  house  and  go  up  there  more  freely 
again.  In  any  case,  Tom  would  get  hold  of  him 
and  chirk  him  up  a  great  deal  almost  without  his 
knowing  it  The  horses  had  been  wintering  on 
a  farm.  They  would  be  back  and  Cyp  was  sure 
to  have  rides.  Poor  little  rascal!  He  had  not 
had  one,  outside  of  Christmas  week,  since  his  last 
with  Tom. 

To  counterbalance  this,  Lee  was  fulfilling 
Warnock's  prophecy  and  " filling  sail"  again  a 


TEMPTATION,    AND  A  SCORE  TO  PAY.      231 

good  deal  the  last  two  or  three  weeks.  He 
seemed  shy  of  Wynt,  was  careless  of  duties,  went 
no  one  knew  exactly  -where  in  the  evenings,  and 
the  old  forced  recklessness  was  coming  back  into 
his  face. 

Wynt  could  not  shake  off  the  consciousness  of 
all  this,  and  yet  what  could  he  do  ?  There  cer- 
tainly was  nothing  left  to  say  that  he  had  not  said. 

Mr.  Brainerd  came  to  much  the  same  con- 
clusion; but  there  were  things  he  had  not  said 
to  Wynt  that  he  could  say!  Mr.  Warnock's  ef- 
forts had  not  been  unsuccessful,  and  Mr.  Brainerd 
was  almost  positively  convinced  that  Wynt  was 
in  some  way  " aiding  and  abetting,"  if  not 
worse,  in  all  this.  A  little  more  positive  proof, 
or  the  proof  of  something  more  positive,  was  all 
he  needed  to  put  the  two  boys  as  far  apart  as 
possible,  and  to  put  Wynt  at  least  out  of  his  own 
sight.  If  he  could  be  as  sure  where  it  was  best 
to  put  Lee,  he  should  be  thankful  and  glad. 

Warnock,  in  the  meantime,  rather  suddenly 
ceased  his  open  "persecution,"  and  adopted  even 
a  smooth,  almost  patronizing  tone  towards  WynL 

"What  trick  is  he  trying  now?"  asked  Lee, 
whose  quick  observation  this  could  not  escape. 
"You  may  be  sure  you  don't  get  such  smiles  for 
nothing,  Wynt.  There'll  be  a  score  to  pay 
somewhere  before  long." 

"I  don't  know  but  there  will,"  Wynt  an- 
swered in  his  usual  quiet  tone. 


232  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Lee  looked  quickly  at  him,  but  Wynt's 
thoughts  were  not  easily  read.  He  had  been 
wondering  lately  if  it  were  possible  that  War- 
nock  had  managed  to  transfer  some  of  his  preju- 
dice to  the  head  of  the  firm. 

Wynt  turned  away  and  walked  quickly  towards 
home.  It  was  his  hour  for  getting  off  at  noon, 
and  he  was  always  impatient  to  get  back  to  Cyp. 
As  he  entered  the  yard  he  met  Bent  just  by  his 
own  door  with  a  letter  in  his  hand. 

"From  Mrs.  Adriance?"  asked  Wynt,  recog- 
nizing the  "air"  of  the  missive  though  he  had 
not  even  a  glimpse  at  the  address. 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  've  but  just  got  it  and  have  not 
broken  the  seal." 

"Well,  if  there's  any  news  let  me  know;" 
and  Wynt  turned  into  the  house.  Vivian  could 
not  be  coming  home  yet,  he  was  sure,  glad  as  he 
should  be  if  she  were. 

Cyp  was  in  before  him,  and  at  work,  as  usual, 
with  pen  and  ink,  at  the  one  entertainment 
where  all  questions  of  woe  seemed  forgotten; 
dashing  off  sketches  or  shading  delicate  outlines, 
throwing  them  into  the  waste-basket  the  next 
moment  to  do  more,  and  leaving  the  forgotten 
ones  for  Barbie  to  rescue  and  treasure  up. 

As  Wynt  sat  at  dinner  he  watched  Cyp  keen- 
ly, first  with  feelings  of  pleasure  and  then  of 
pain.  Bent's  letter  made  him  realize  that  Vivian 
would  be  coming  some  time,  and  he  looked  at  Cyp 


TEMPTATION,    AND  A  SCORE  TO  PAY.       233 

thinking  how  his  face  would  brighten  and  the 
old  glow  come  back  when  Tom  got  him  behind 
the  horses  again.  But  that  very  reflection  made 
the  contrast  of  the  little  face  as  it  was  now  all 
the  more  trying  to  observe. 

' '  It  sharpens  down  with  every  month  that 
goes  by,  I  believe,"  Wynt  thought  bitterly. 
"And  those  hands  of  his  are  nothing  but  a  set  of 
pipe-stems.  I  don't  know  but  I  ought  to  get 
Dr.  McPherson  to  take  a  look  at  him." 

And  that  thought  again  brought  another  sug- 
gestion that  was  most  painful  of  all.  "What 
good  can  a  doctor  do  him,  though?  There's 
just  one  prescription  that  would  hit  Cyp,  and 
that's  one  I'm  not  able  to  get  for  him;  nor  ever 
shall  be,  I'm  afraid,  what  is  far  worse." 

As  he  went  out  he  looked  towards  Bent's  cot- 
tage, sure  he  would  be  on  the  watch  for  him  to 
tell  him  the  news. 

No  Bent  was  in  sight  at  window  or  door,  and 
Wynt  cut  across  a  little  path  that  brought  him 
under  the  window  where  Mab  always  sat.  But  a 
gauzy  curtain,  that  screened  the  lower  half  when 
she  wished  it,  was  drawn  across  its  wire,  and  he 
passed  on. 

"Queer,  though,"  he  thought  "I'm  sure 
Bent  would  have  told  me  if  Mab  was  under  the 
weather;  and  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  saw  that 
curtain  drawn  close  in  broad  daylight  before." 


234  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A   BLOW   FOR   BENT. 

MAB  was  not  ill ;  on  the  contrary,  for  the  first 
time  in  three  years  she  had  been  just  daring  to 
hope  that  she  was  a  trifle  "  on  the  gain."  Wynt, 
after  his  last  talk  with  Jem,  had  got  Dr.  McPher- 
son  to  go  and  see  her.  Since  that  no  one  felt 
sure  as  to  exactly  what  had  happened,  except 
that  the  pain  certainly  was  better  and  Mab  had 
doubled  her  moving  about  the  room. 

"I  do  positively  believe  it  is  full  half  in  his 
telling  me  I  was  going  to  do  it,"  Mab  had  said 
laughingly  to  Barbie  more  than  once.  "There *s 
nothing  like  setting  one's  spirits  up  a  bit  to  drive 
pain  away." 

"And  there's  nothing  easier  than  laughing 
at  that  time,  either,"  Barbie  had  replied.  "But 
if  the  Lord's  time  has  come  for  the  pain  to  lift  a 
little,  the  doctor  will  give  you  the  right  prescrip- 
tion, whatever  it  may  be." 

So  when  Bent  came  in  Mab  had  met  him  with 
one  of  her  brightest  smiles,  and  the  warm  little 
spot  of  comfort  he  had  felt  growing  into  his  heart 
lately  about  her  crowded  the  "house  troubles" 
a  trifle  farther  out 


A   BLOW   FOR   BENT.  235 

He  held  up  the  letter  to  Mab,  and  she  knew 
at  a  glance  whom  it  was  from. 

u  I  brought  it  down  thinking  I  'd  read  it  here 
first,  and  give  you  the  bit  of  amusement  of  having 
it  fresh." 

"Yes,  do,  father,"  she  said,  settling  herself 
comfortably  in  her  chair  to  listen.  "We  don't 
get  the  treat  of  a  letter  every  day." 

Bent  broke  the  seal,  got  the  smooth,  elegant 
bit  of  paper  out,  and  began  to  read,  managing 
the  square,  high-topped  English  chirography  as 
well  as  his  old-fashioned  eyes  might  do. 

There  were  one  or  two  trifling  instructions  as 
to  some  indifferent  matters  at  the  house,  then  a 
word  of  graceful  remembrance  to  Mab,  with  the 
hope  that  she  was  improving  and  that  Bent  was 
quite  well,  and  then — 

But  Bent  had  stopped  reading  and  his  face 
had  blanched.  He  was  looking  at  the  paper  with 
fixed  eyes,  and  seemed  to  have  forgotten  Mab  and 
all  the  world  beside. 

Suddenly  he  remembered  her  again,  and 
thrust  the  letter  into  its  envelope  hastily.  "  That 
— that's  about  all,"  he  said,  and  rose  from  his 
chair  to  get  away. 

But  Mab  had  laid  her  hand  upon  his  arm  and 
was  holding  him  fast  "  Father,"  she  said,  "sit 
still.  Tell  me  what  it  is.  You  may  just  as  well. 
You  said  you  felt  there  was  more  trouble  coming. 
It  has  come  now.  Tell  me  what  it  is." 


236  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"No,  it's  not  come  yet;  not  altogether  yet," 
Bent  stammered  helplessly.  He  knew  Mab  would 
not  let  him  go. 

"Then  it's  close  upon  us.  Tell  me,  father 
dear.  You  need  not  be  afraid — I'm  stronger 
now.  Don't  you  know  I  am?  Tell  me.  It 
can't  be  that  a  Havisham  could  ever  be  cruel  to 
you  !" 

( *  Cruel  ?' '  repeated  Bent  vacantly.  ' ( I  do  n'  t 
know.  Oh,  no,  not  cruel,  I  am  sure.  No,  no,  no, 
not  cruel.  It's  all  right.  I  am  an  old  man,  of 
course.  It 's  not  strange  Miss  Vivian  thinks  of 
that,  not  strange.  It  is  quite  right  to  bring  a 
new  butler  when  she  comes." 

Mab  had  let  go  his  arm  now  and  was  leaning 
back  in  her  chair,  her  face  almost  whiter  than  his. 

Suddenly  a  bright  red  spot  came  round  and 
burning  into  each  cheek.  "  Not  cruel  ?"  she  ex- 
claimed. ' '  Not  cruel,  when  you  have  given  the 
best  of  all  you  were  to  her  father  and  the  rest  of 
the  house !" 

"  Yes,  I  know.  But  she  speaks  of  that.  She 
says  that  is  remembered;  that  I'm  not  to  think 
the  contrary;  and  though  she'll  not  be  here  till 
April,  she  tells  me  now,  that  I  may  be  looking 
about  I'm  a  valuable  man  yet,  she  says,  and 
there's  many  that  would  like  my  services." 

An  almost  imperceptible  tone  of  satire  crept 
into  Bent's  repetition  of  these  last  words.  "Many 
who  would  like  his  services."  His  services 


A   BLOW  FOR   BENT.  237 

were  not  the  thing,  by  any  means,  for  Vivian, 
but  good  enough,  quite,  for  some  other  Edinburgh 
house. 

And  how  many  houses  were  there  in  Edin- 
burgh where  the  services  of  a  butler  were  in  de- 
mand at  all? 

"  And  to  leave  the  Havisham  House  means," 
began  Mab  slowly  at  last. 

"Yes,"  said  Bent,  without  looking  up,  admit- 
ting all  the  suggestions  of  her  unfinished  sen- 
tence. 

It  was  not  necessary  to  elaborate.  They  both 
knew  without  words.  It  was  all  standing  clear 
and  distinct  before  their  eyes. 

It  meant,  probably,  almost  certainly,  leaving 
the  gate.  It  meant  Bent's  income  stopping;  and 
that  meant  drawing  upon  his  little  savings  and 
the  precious  legacy  from  the  judge,  and  using 
them  up,  instead  of  leaving  them  safe  for  Mab, 
which  had  been  the  one  treasured  hope  of  his 
heart.  And  it  meant  feeling  old  and  abandoned, 
and  being  sure  of  it,  while  he  had  thought  he  had 
ten  or  fifteen  good  years  of  work  left  in  him  yet 
And  what  it  would  mean  after  the  little  savings 
should  be  used  up  neither  he  nor  Mab  liked  to 
ask  themselves,  even  in  thought. 

Bent  sat  still,  hardly  seeming  to  see  things 
that  stood  really  before  him,  when  he  felt  Mab's 
hand  laid  on  his  arm  again. 

"Father  dear!"   she  said,  shaking  his  arm 


238  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

gently,  as  if  to  rouse  him  and  bring  him  back, 
"  what  are  we  going  to  do  now  ?" 

Bent  shook  his  head.  "  I  don't  know,  really, 
Mab.  It  can't  be  true  altogether,  as  it  seems  to 
me." 

"Yes;  it  is  true.  I  never  knew  Miss  Vivian 
fail  of  anything  she  set  her  hand  to.  But  I  know 
what  we  must  do.  I  can  tell  you,  if  you  can't 
think.  We  must  do  what  you  told  me  the  night 
Jem  went  away.  We  must  just  'hold  on  the 
tighter  the  harder  things  pull.'  There's  love 
and  comfort  and  help  when  we  need  it,  all  there  ! 
It  was  enough  for  me  then,  and  'twill  be  enough 
for  us  now;  you  need  never  fear.  I  know  this  is 
bitterer,  some  ways,  than  that.  I  'd  rather  trouble 
touched  me  a  thousand  times  than  you.  I  'm 
young  yet,  and  I'm  getting  better,  don't  you 
know?  But  whatever  it  is,  the  Hand's  there  to 
help  us.  And  there 's  nothing  dealt  out  that  it 
doesn't  guard  us  through  it  all,  nothing,  father 
dear.  It  will  be  all  right — better  than  any  other 
way,  when  we  once  find  it  out" 

Bent  listened  silently.  uYes,  Mab,  you're 
quite  right  Somehow  I  can't  seem  to  get  hold 
of  it  all  just  yet;  all  that  Miss  Vivian  says,  I 
mean.  Did  you  know  I  was  so  very  old,  Mab? 
I  wonder  they  did  n't  tell  me  before.  Mr.  Thorpe 
couldn't  bring  his  mind  to  it,  I  suppose.  I  ought 
to  have  thought  of  it  myself." 

<(It's  nothing  to  think  of!"  exclaimed  Mab, 


A   BLOW  FOR  BENT.  239 

rousing  to  her  spirited  tone.  "The  rest  of  us  can 
count  years,  and  see  ways  and  actions,  as  well  as 
Miss  Vivian  can.  You're  no  different  these  ten 
years  past,  and  didn't  Mr.  Thorpe  always  say — " 
She  stopped  suddenly.  Mr.  Thorpe  used  to  say 
Bent  would  be  good  for  work  longer  than  he  him- 
self;  but  that  was  only  a  sorrowful  thing  to  be 
bringing  up  now. 

"Well,  it's  hard  saying  who's  right,"  said 
Bent  slowly,  rising  and  making  another  effort  to 
go.  "We  know  the  good  Lord  is,  and  that's 
about  all  we  can  say.  I  '11  go  and  think  it  over 
a  while.  She 's  not  coming  till  April,  and  I  'm  to 
have  time  to  look  about  She  took  that  reason 
for  writing  me  in  advance,  she  says." 

"But  you'll  not  take  it  very  hard,  father 
dear,"  pursued  Mab,  holding  him  back  still. 
"  Promise  me  you  '11  not  take  it  very  hard." 

"No,  I'll  not,  Mab;  I'll  get  my  comfort 
where  there 's  enough  for  me,  when  I  get  settled 
to  the  suddenness  of  it  a  little  while.  But,  Mab  " — 
he  remembered  at  that  moment  that  Wynt  had 
asked  to  be  told  if  the  letter  brought  any  news — 
"if  Mr.  Wynt  should  be  looking  in  while  I  am 
gone,  I  'd  say  nothing  to  him  of  what  has  come. 
He  'd  take  it  to  heart  for  us,  I  know,  and  his  own 
burdens  are  load  enough  for  his  shoulders  just 
now.  It's  as  hard  a  thing,  almost,  being  too 
young  as  too  old.  It  will  be  time  enough  talking 
of  it  when  April  is  almost  here." 


240  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

u  Yes;  and  when  April  comes  something  else 
may  come  with  it  that  we  're  not  dreaming  of 
yet  We'll  just  'hold  on  tighter'  while  we're 
waiting,  wont  we?  and  'twill  be  all  right." 
And  Mab  gave  him  a  smile  almost  as  bright  as 
the  one  that  had  welcomed  him  in. 

"Bless,  you  child!"  said  Bent  hastily,  look- 
ing almost  wonderingly  into  her  face.  "It's  a 
strange  thing,  I  will  say,  to  see  a  delicate  flower 
of  a  thing  like  you  putting  heart  into  a  strong 
man  like  me." 

"Well,  I'm  glad  you're  remembering  that 
you're  a  strong  man  after  all,"  answered  Mab 
almost  gayly.  "We'll  say  nothing  about  it, 
then,  to  Mr.  Wynt,  or  even  Barbie  or  any  of 
them  yet.  We  '11  just  talk  to  the  dear  Lord  of  it 
and  see  what  he  has  to  say.  He  has  secrets  to 
tell  people  such  times,  if  they  listen,  there  are 
those  that  think." 

"Yes;  we'll  say  nothing,  Mab.  We '11  just 
keep  it  between  us;  that's  the  best  way.  But 
we'll  have  keen  eyes  watching  us.  Even  Mr. 
Cyp  makes  his  conclusions  when  you  don't  think 
you've  thrown  him  a  crumb.  And  I  must  be 
looking  about  too,  as  still  as  I  can,  to  see  if  there's 
an  oar  to  be  put  out,  or  an  anchor  to  windward, 
anywhere  in  the  town." 


HAND-TO-HAND   FIGHTING.  241 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

HAND-TO-HAND  FIGHTING. 

THAT  was  exactly  what  Mr.  Wilkie  was  look- 
ing  in  every  direction  to  find,  but  neither  an  oar 
nor  an  anchor  that  would  keep  him  out  of  his 
trouble  was  to  be  found.  In  a  few  days  more  he 
must  say  yea  or  nay  as  to  the  lead-mine  going  on, 
and  there  would  be  but  just  time  for  success  at 
the  mine  to  help  him  before  the  embarrassments 
closing  so  darkly  upon  him  would  face  squarely 
for  settlement 

Then  up  rose  the  thought  he  had  put  from 
him  so  indignantly  not  long  before,  the  thought 
of  the  trust  funds.  He  had  plenty  of  them  in  his 
hands,  for  his  name  was  among  the  most  honored, 
and  his  judgment  and  integrity  among  the  most 
relied  upon,  in  many  a  mile  around. 

Yes;  he  had  heard  of  men  whom  every  one 
had  felt  sure  of  disappointing  the  public  and  dis- 
gracing themselves  before  now. 

But,  after  all,  there  are  different  ideas  about 
disgrace.  Suppose  he  knew,  absolutely,  that  a 
sum  he  might  thus  borrow  he  could  safely  and 
with  interest  return.  What  was  the  use  of  argu- 
ing squeamishly  about  such  a  thing? 

Jod(*  H«rl»h»nr»  WIU.  J 5 


242  JUDGE   HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Whose  funds  should  he  take,  then?  The 
Havisham  boys'  ? 

He  started  up  as  if  in  recoil  from  the  very 
thought. 

Well,  then,  if  not  the  Havisham  boys',  why 
any  one's  else?  And  did  not  that  start  also  con- 
fess to  himself  that  he  did  not  feel  absolutely  sure 
it  would  be  safe  ? 

Once  more  he  thrust  the  thought  away  from 
him  and  plunged  into  business  and  important 
work  that  more  than  filled  his  hands. 

It  was  a  busy  time  for  Wynt  also;  for  Brainerd 
and  Gray  were  making  the  "trial  balance"  of  their 
books,  and  it  was  new  if  not  perplexing  work  to 
Wynt,  though  his  share  in  it  was  small  and  prin- 
cipally an  initiation  by  the  book-keeper  in  chief. 
The  every-day  outside  writing  was,  however, 
entirely  turned  over  to  him,  and  his  stool  was  his 
station  pretty  closely,  bringing  the  advantage,  at 
least,  that  he  was  spared  the  numerous  annoying 
interruptions  Warnock  had  found  for  him  in  the 
past. 

But  the  trial  balance  would  not  come  out 
right.  There  was  a  hitch  somewhere;  something 
was  wrong. 

There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  search  for  the 
error,  if  error  it  was,  till  it  could  be  found;  and 
meanwhile  Warnock  saw  another  opportunity  to 
whisper  insinuations  into  Mr.  Brainerd' s  ear. 

Those  books  had  been  trusted  a  great  deal  out 


HAND-TO-HAND   FIGHTING.  243 

of  the  book-keeper's  care.  It  was  a  heavy  test 
of  an  untried  boy  to  put  so  much  under  his  eye 
and  hand,  and  possibly  a  temptation  as  well  as 
a  test. 

Wynt  felt  that  the  unexplained  coldness  had 
suddenly  increased.  What  could  it  mean  ?  The 
blunder,  whatever  it  might  be,  was  far  more  prob- 
ably the  book-keeper's  than  his;  he  had  had  al- 
most no  difficult  work  to  do.  And  it  would  be 
found  in  a  day  or  two.  He  was  almost  certain  of 
that.  And  if  Mr.  Brainerd's  manner  continued 
the  same  after  that,  he  thought  he  should  certain- 
ly do  what  he  had  thought  could  not  be  done: 
walk  up  and  ask  if  he  did  not  like  him.  There 
were  other  stores  in  Edinburgh  where  he  could 
get  work.  This  would  be  another  Havisham 
House  to  him  if  he  thought  he  was  not  wanted 
by  the  head  of  the  firm. 

The  day  closed  with  a  feeling  that  things 
were  not  exactly  comfortable  at  a  good  many 
points. 

Never  mind  !  He  had  only  to  hold  on  the 
tighter;  that  was  all;  to  stick  to  the  right  and  get 
his  comfort  out  of  that,  out  of  the  Lord  who  had 
shown  him  how.  He  had  never  come  to  earth 
and  spent  all  those  sorrowful  years  to  trace  out 
the  path  for  us,  and  borne  shame  and  death  for  us 
too,  if  His  friendship  had  n't  been  one  to  hold  on 
to  us  through  thick  and  thin.  As  long  as  the 
Saviour  and  Leader  was  Brother  and  Prince  as 


244  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

well,  there  wasn't  much  room  to  be  down-hearted 
or  to  drag  behind.  It  was  all  right 

The  day  had  closed,  but  the  store  had  not 
altogether.  Wynt  and  the  book-keeper  had 
returned  in  the  evening  and  were  working  away, 
hours  after  every  one  else  had  gone,  and  the  prob- 
lem was  not  solved.  Wynt  was  dismissed  at 
last;  the  book-keeper  might  work  a  little  longer, 
but  Wynt  had  better  go. 

He  went  hastily  along  the  business  street  with 
figures,  Cyp,  the  store,  Vivian,  Lee,  and  every- 
thing else  chasing  through  his  thoughts.  He  did 
not  like  the  idea  of  leaving  Brainerd's.  He  was 
afraid  people  would  call  him  a  rolling  stone. 

Suddenly  a  light  at  the  foot  of  a  flight  of  stairs 
attracted  his  attention,  he  hardly  knew  why.  He 
had  seen  it  often  enough  before.  It  was  so  in«- 
closed  in  colored  glass  as  to  offer  a  sort  of  illumi- 
nation, which  marked  to  the  initiated  the  entrance 
to  an  upper  room  where  certain  so-called  enter- 
tainments, he  did  not  care  to  ask  what,  were 
supposed  to  go  on.  The  room  had  been  recently 
opened.  He  had  heard  the  words  "faro"  and 
billiards  used  in  connection  with  it,  and  that  had 
been  enough. 

Something  prompted  him  to  glance  up  at  the 
window.  A  face  appeared  at  it  for  a  single  in- 
stant and  vanished  away.  It  was  Lee's  ! 

Lee's?  Wynt  stopped  without  knowing  that 
he  did  so,  and  for  one  more  instant  the  face  ap- 


HAND-TO-HAND   FIGHTING.  245 

peared  again,  as  if  anxious  for  some  one's  coming 
and  daring  a  hasty  outlook. 

In  that  one  moment  Wynt  beckoned  to  him 
and  then  ran  up  the  stairs.  He  stopped  on  the 
landing,  doubting  whether  Lee  would  answer; 
but  he  did  not  wait  long;  Lee  opened  the  door 
with  a  hot,  irritated  look  on  his  face. 

"Yes,  of  course!"  he  said.  "I  gave  myself 
away  getting  near  that  window,  and  I  deserve  to 
get  caught.  I  'd  rather  it  was  you  than  any  one 
else,  though,  and  now  don't  worry  me.  It's  no 
use  saying  a  word." 

"Then  I'll  say  it  without  any  use.  Come 
along,  Lee.  Come  home  with  me.  You  can't  be 
doing  worse  than  ever.  I  wont  believe  it  What 
do  you  want  in  this  horrid  place,  whatever  it  is? 
Come  off  among  people  that  are  fit  for  you." 

Lee's  face  relented.  "You're  so  awfully 
kind,  Wynt,  it's  a  shame  to  push  you  off. 
Thanks,  a  hundred  times.  But  I  'd  rather  you  'd 
take  some  other  time  to  dress  me  down.  Some- 
body will  come  upon  us  directly,  and  I  don't 
care  to  have  it  said  I  am  tagged  after.  How  do 
you  know  people  here  are  not  fit  for  me? 
There's  more  than  one  Hal  Ericson  in  Edin- 
burgh, if  you  knew  it  all." 

"Then  there  are  so  many  more  to  be  sorry 
for.  Come,  Lee!  I've  got  enough  to  think  of 
without  leaving  you  here." 

"I  can't,  Wynt     I  never  was  here  before, 


246  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

really,  and  perhaps  I  never  will  be  again.  But  I 
have  an  engagement  to  meet  some  one  to-night. 
There!  They're  coming!"  and  Lee  stepped 
hastily  back  into  the  room. 

Wynt  let  him  go  and  stood  aside  till  the 
"some  one"  had  come  up  and  passed  him;  it 
was  of  no  use,  he  saw  that  plainly  enough,  and 
he  would  not  "  tag." 

The  door  opened  and  shut  for  the  new-comer, 
and  then  Wynt  ran  down  the  stairs  feeling  as  if 
there  was  something  above  to  escape  from  in 
haste.  He  reached  the  sidewalk  with  a  spring 
and  raised  his  eyes  just  in  time  to  avoid  running 
precipitately  against  a  well-overcoated  figure  just 
abreast. 

The  two  looked  at  each  other,  and  Mr. 
Brainerd's  voice  said,  "  Ah  !" 

Wynt  was  already  touching  his  cap  with  "I 
beg  your  pardon,"  and  in  an  instant  they  had 
passed,  each  going  on  his  way  with  reflections,  to 
say  the  least,  very  suddenly  disturbed. 

There  was  nothing  for  Wynt  to  do  now, 
though,  but  to  hurry  back  to  Cyp.  Poor  little 
youngster !  He  would  be  tired  enough  of  pen 
and  ink  before  now,  Wynt  was  afraid. 

As  he  neared  the  cottages  he  saw  a  figure  hov- 
ering near  the  front  of  Bent's,  and  on  his  coming 
closer  it  slipped  away  towards  Mab's  window  and 
then  got  lost  behind  some  evergreen-trees. 

"That  looks  like  Jem!"  exclaimed  Wynt, 


"GYP'S  OUTDOING  HIMSELF  I"     Page  247. 


HAND-TO-HAND   FIGHTING.  047 

halting  a  second  where  he  stood.  "  I  declare  on 
my  word,  I  believe  it  was!"  as  the  figure  went 
out  of  sight 

But  it  evidently  wished  to  be  out  of  sight,  so 
Wynt  went  quickly  on  and  found  Cyp  curled  up 
in  one  of  the  bamboo  chairs,  his  head  nearly 
dropped  off  into  the  corner  of  it,  fast  asleep,  and 
the  table  strewed  with  the  everlasting  bits  of 
sketching  paper  that  Barbie  would  be  ready  to 
seize. 

Wynt  went  softly  up  to  them  and  took  one 
after  another  into  his  hand.  "Cyp's  outdoing 
himself  every  time,"  he  thought  "He  is  a 
genius  and  no  mistake.  It 's  time  he  was  having 
some  lessons.  And  it's  time  to  begin  saving 
some  of  these  things.  That  boat  lying  off  that 
bridge,  now  !  I've  seen  plenty  of  wood  engra- 
vings where  the  effect  was  no  better  than  that 
I  wont  let  him  throw  them  all  away." 

He  did  not  like  to  shake  Cyp  up,  so  he  took 
another  chair  himself,  and  then  began  to  realize 
that  he  was  pretty  well  tired  out  The  day  had 
been  a  hard  one  and  the  evening  harder;  the  old 
headache  was  on  again,  and  somehow  there  was  a 
feeling  that  things  were  getting  pretty  "thick" 
all  around. 

There  was  trouble  coming  with  Mr.  Brainerd, 
he  was  sure  of  that  He  had  been  almost  sure  of 
it  before,  but  there  was  something  in  the  tone  of 
that  "  Ah !"  that  told  a  tale. 


248  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

However,  bad  as  that  was  and  might  be,  he 
could  stand  under  it  and  anything  else  that 
touched  only  himself.  But  that  little  face  of 
Cyp's  over  there  !  It  never  had  looked  so  sharp 
or  so  patient  as  it  did  just  now,  huddled  down  in 
what  ought  to  be  the  forgetfulness  of  sleep. 
What  was  he  ever  going  to  do  with  him  ?  How 
was  he  ever  going  to  do  what  he  ought  ? 

He  passed  his  hand  over  his  forehead  and 
wondered  if  he  were  growing  old.  This  fight  of 
life  held  a  fellow  down  a  good  deal  harder  than 
he  had  supposed. 

"  I  don't  mind  hand-to-hand  fighting  though, 
if  there's  only  the  least  chance.  But  I  must  not 
fail  with  Cyp,  and  yet  I  seem  to  be  doing  it. 
And  Lee 's  almost  like  a  brother  and  there 's  no 
one  to  keep  any  hold  on  him  but  me.  If  Brainerd 
and  Gray  turn  me  off  that  may  fix  me  with 
everybody  else,  and  where  is  Cyp  then  ?  And 
now  Jem — "  He  could  not  help  breaking  into  a 
little  laugh  then  in  spite  of  himself.  "I  don't 
suppose  I  have  exactly  to  carry  Jem;  but  I  believe 
he  needs  just  a  little  more  bracing  up  to  knock  at 
that  door  of  Mab's." 

But  the  laugh  was  a  short  one.  He  was  too 
tired.  "  If  I  only  had  some  one  to  talk  to  about 
it  all!  But  there's  only  Mr.  Wilkie,  and  he's 
no  use.  There 's  just  one  thing  there  the  same 
every  time,  and  that  I  can't  do." 

Suddenly  he  roused  himself.     "And  there's 


HAND-TO-HAND   FIGHTING.  249 

just  one  thing  here,  and  that  is  to  hold  on  tighter 
ever}*  time;  and  that  I  can  do  and  will.  And  I 
have  some  One  to  talk  to,  some  One  who  sees 
through  the  whole  business  as  I  can't  and  is  al- 
ways there.  If  I  couldn't  get  my  comfort  going 
over  it  all  with  Him,  there  would  n't  be  as  much 
holding  out  as  there  ought  to  be,  to  say  nothing 
of  holding  on. " 


250  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILI* 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

AT  THE  LAST  MOMENT. 

THE  next  day  was  as  busy  as  the  one  before, 
and  Wynt  only  saw  Lee  in  the  distance  now  and 
then.  Mr.  Brainerd  had  been  called  out  of  town 
and  would  not  return  until  evening,  and  the 
book-keeper  was  still  hunting  his  error  in  the 
books.  The  hours  were  nearly  over  when  Mr. 
Brainerd  returned,  and  Wynt  only  wished  as  he 
saw  him  coming  that  he  could  go  to  him  and 
settle  matters  at  once.  If  it  were  not  for  that  un- 
lucky meeting  last  evening  he  would;  it  would 
not  do  to  look  as  if  he  were  frightened  by  that 

But  he  had  not  much  time  for  wishes  or  de- 
cisions of  his  own.  Warnock  put  his  head  into 
the  office,  with  an  expression  sublimated  upon  his 
usual  one,  to  say  that  Mr.  Brainerd  would  see 
Wynt  in  his  private  room. 

Wynt  went  quickly.  He  was  glad  to  have 
things  find  their  climax  and  get  over  it  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  Mr.  Brainerd  evidently  was  equally 
ready  on  his  part.  There  was  a  little  uncomfort- 
able look  about  the  matter  to  the  senior  partner, 
for  he  did  not  forget  who  the  Havishams  were, 
and  he  had  originally  felt  a  strong  sympathy  for 
Wynt;  but  his  suspicions  seemed  to  have  reached 


AT  THE   LAST  MOMENT.  25! 

certainty  at  last  and  he  was  thoroughly  angry, 
both  on  his  own  account  and  on  Lee's.  He  had 
anxiety  enough  about  Lee  without  cherishing  a 
young  fellow  who  was  egging  him  on. 

"You  will  excuse  ine,  Mr.  Havisham,  but  I 
wish  to  ask  you,  are  you  fond  of  games?  billiards, 
for  example?" 

"Not  of  billiards,  certainly.  I  do  not  play 
the  game." 

"Ah,  you  do  not?  Faro  then,  possibly,  in- 
stead?" 

"  I  know  nothing  whatever  of  that" 

"And  what  amusements  do  you  go  out  for 
when  evening  comes  ?' ' 

"None,  sir.  I  had  no  need  when  I  was  in 
my  uncle's  home;  and  I  certainly  have  no  time 
now,  if  I  wished  anything  of  the  kind." 

"Will  you  be  good  enough,  then,  to  tell  me 
what  occasion  you  had  to  go  up  a  certain  flight  of 
stairs  near  which  I  met  you  last  night?" 

Wynt  was  staggered.  He  had  never  thought 
of  inquiry  taking  this  form.  Any  questions  bear- 
ing on  his  own  actions  he  could  meet  and  answer 
fearlessly;  but  this  meant  Lee. 

A  peculiar  expression  came  into  Mr.  Brain- 
erd's  face  as  he  watched  Wynt's  and  waited  for 
the  silence  to  break. 

Wynt  wished  he  would  break  it  himself,  by 
almost  anything  else  he  could  say;  but  evidently 
he  would  not 


252  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

There  was  nothing  for  it.  He  must  answer. 
But  what  could  he  say  ?  If  he  told  the  truth  and 
said  he  went  to  drag  some  one  else  away,  the  next 
question  was  sure  to  be,  who  was  that  some  one 
else?  UI  went  there  for  no  wrong  purpose,  Mr. 
Brainerd.  That  is  all  I  can  say." 

The  look  in  Mr.  Brainerd' s  face  deepened. 
"Ah!  That's  pleasant  to  hear,  but  it  hardly 
answers  my  question,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  Per- 
haps you  will  explain  what  that  purpose,  right  or 
wrong,  may  have  been." 

Wynt  was  silent  again.  Then  he  lifted  hia 
eyes  quickly  and  steadily  to  the  senior  partner's 
face.  "That  I  must  ask  you  to  excuse  my  doing, 
Mr.  Brainerd,  if  you  please.  I  had  hoped  you 
had  confidence  enough  in  me  to  take  my  word. 
But  since  you  have  not,  and  if  in  other  points 
you  are  not  satisfied,  I  should  be  glad  if  you 
would  put  some  one  else  into  my  place." 

"Would  you?"  And  there  was  a  sneering 
insinuation  in  the  tone  that  cut  Wynt  to  the 
quick.  "It  would  be  better  for  appearances  if 
you  should  wait  until  that  little  trouble  at  the 
office  is  cleared  up.  It  might  look  like  running 
before  the  enemy,  you  know.  No,  I  am  not  sat- 
isfied in  other  points,  several  of  them.  But  if 
you  can  explain  yourself  as  to  your  position  last 
evening,  and  as  to  stolen  conversations  with  Lee 
that  are  much  disturbed  by  being  intruded  upon, 
I  shall  be  glad  to  let  minor  points  go.  Perhaps 


AT  THE  LAST  MOMENT.  253 

you  will  be  ready  to  do  so  before  to-morrow 
night." 

That  evening  Wynt  hardly  knew  what  he  was 
doing  or  saying  to  entertain  Cyp.  The  first  two 
or  three  hours  must  be  given  up  to  him  always, 
and  must  be  as  much  like  the  old  happy  times  at 
home  as  was  possible  with  the  changes  that  had 
come. 

A  confused  feeling  and  a  dull,  heavy  weight 
that  seemed  pressing  like  lead  and  the  burning 
sense  of  outraged  self-respect  piled  together  upon 
him  were  almost  too  much. 

What  was  he  going  to  do  for  Cyp  now  ?  And 
had  he,  Wynt  Havisham,  to  stand  before  a  charge 
of  wrong  and  not  defend  himself? 

It  seemed  to  him  the  evening  would  never 
wear  away.  If  it  ever  would !  if  he  could  get 
Cyp  off,  and  give  up  this  strain  of  talking  and 
listening  when  he  did  not  know  what  either  Cyp 
or  himself  was  talking  about  I 

But  it  was  over  at  last,  and  Cyp,  who  had  been 
in  an  unusually  fine  flow  of  spirits,  gave  some 
drawings  that  the  day  had  produced  a  whirl 
into  the  waste-basket,  preparatory  to  going  up 
stairs. 

"Stop,  Cyp!  I'm  going  to  save  those,'* 
Wynt  said  mechanically,  remembering  he  had 
made  that  resolution  the  night  before.  "I'm 
going  to  fill  a  portfolio." 

Cyp  laughed   merrily.     "Yes!    Great  treas- 


254  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

ures  wouldn't  they  be?  All  right  Where 's 
your  portfolio,  then?" 

"I  don't  know  that  I  have  any,"  Wynt  an- 
swered, forcing  himself  once  more;  he  was  sorry 
he  had  brought  up  a  fresh  subject  just  now. 

"Yes,  you  have."  And  Cyp  ran  to  an  odd 
East  Indian  structure,  half  desk,  half  writing- 
table,  that  stood  at  the  end  of  the  room.  "  Here ! 
Don't  you  remember  this?"  and  he  produced  the 
red,  purple,  and  yellow  portfolio  that  Wynt  had 
reclaimed  from  Vivian. 

Wynt  said  that  would  do,  and  held  out  his 
hand  for  it,  hoping  to  bring  things  to  a  close. 

"It's  empty,"  pursued  Cyp,  holding  it  open 
and  swinging  the  two  halves  apart,  "empty  and 
all  ready.  Unless,"  and  he  dropped  on  one  knee 
and  placed  the  portfolio  on  the  other  for  a  rum- 
mage, "unless  there's  something  in  this  pocket 
right  here." 

1  *  Pocket !  There  is  n'  t  any  pocket  in  it,  Cyp. '  * 

"Isn't  there!"  returned  Cyp  triumphantly. 
"  I  guess  I  know  !  I  hunted  it  out  one  day  long 
ago.  It's  a  kind  of  secret,  you  see,  right  under 
this  little  slit.  And  there's  something  in  it  this 
time,  too.  How  did  it  get  there?  I  should  like 
to  know.  There  didn't  use  to  be  anything  when 
I  found  it  before." 

"Give  it  to  me,  Cyp,"  said  Wynt  listlessly; 
he  did  not  care  about  portfolios  if  he  could  once 
get  Cyp  off  to  bed. 


AT  THE   LAST  MOMENT.  255 

He  took  it  and  looked  curiously  at  the  ingen- 
ious bit  of  deception  that  had  kept  the  pocket  from 
his  notice  all  this  time.  Yes,  there  was  a  paper 
in  it  He  wondered  if  it  were  something  that 
Mr.  Wilkie  had  been  missing  all  this  time  and 
should  have  had. 

He  drew  it  out;  Cyp  was  waiting  impatiently 
to  get  the  portfolio  back.  He  handed  it  to  him; 
Cyp  flourished  over  to  the  waste-basket  with  it, 
and  Wynt  unfolded  the  paper  and  glanced  inside. 

His  uncle's  handwriting !  He  started  at  the 
dear  familiar  look,  but  in  another  instant  every 
vein  seemed  to  be  on  fire  with  the  thrill  that 
was  sweeping  through  him. 

That  was  for  one  instant  The  next  he  found 
himself  stupidly,  heavily,  going  over  the  first  few 
lines.  It  seemed  as.  if  he  could  not  read  them. 
Was  he  sure  he  was  right  ? 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Cyp,  coming  back.  "Is 
it  any  good?" 

"  I  do  n't  know.  It 's  something  for  Mr.  Wil- 
kie. I  '11  take  it  to  him  to-inorrow.  Come,  Cyp, 
I  'm  very  tired.  I  'd  really  like  it  if  you  '11  come 
up  stairs." 

Cyp  followed  him  instantly.  It  was  hardly 
fifteen  minutes  before  he  was  in  the  land  of 
dreams,  but  it  seemed  weeks  to  Wynt  He  went 
down  stairs  repeating  to  himself,  "  This  time  they 
cannot  say  it  is  not  plain.  This  time  they  cannot 
say  it  is  not  written  out  and  signed.  This  is  the 


256  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

'last  will'  that  he  'did  not  wish  carried  out.' 
Oh,  why  had  he  not  told  us  where  it  was !" 

He  sat  down  at  Cyp's  table  and  spread  open 
the  paper,  trying  confusedly  to  make  mind  and 
thoughts  take  in  what  his  eyes  saw  clearly  before 
them. 

"I  knew  I  was  right!  I  knew  the  changes 
were  about  one  part  of  the  thing.  This  gives 
everything  to  Vivian,  everything — except  the  leg- 
acies to  Bent  and  the  rest,  of  course.  I  thought 
that  was  it.  But  I  did  not  think, ' '  and  he  gave 
an  involuntary  little  shudder,  "I  did  not  think 
he  would  leave  us  to  her — Cyp  and  me  !  This 
is  to  make  her  our  guardian,  trusting  her  to  '  con- 
sider our  best  interests '  until  we  are  of  age." 

He  scarcely  stirred  as  the  next  five,  ten,  fifteen 
minutes  passed.  Brainerd  and  Gray's,  Cyp,  Viv- 
ian, that  miserable  flight  of  stairs,  all  seemed  press- 
ing in  one  confused  crowd  together.  What  was 
it  he  was  to  try  and  do  with  them  all  ?  Was  this 
going  to  bring  anything  new  ? 

No,  he  did  not  see  that  it  was.  It  would  not 
put  Cyp  and  himself  back  into  the  house,  for  Viv- 
ian, with  the  decision  left  to  her,  certainly  would 
not  place  them  there.  And  if  she  considered  that 
their  "best  interests"  lay  elsewhere  than  at  the 
gate  cottage  and  the  store,  she  would  have  said  so 
before  to-day. 

So  it  was  all  the  same.  He  must  show  this  to 
Mr.  Wilkie,  of  course,  but  Brainerd  and  Gray 


AT  THE   LAST  MOMENT.  257 

were  what  really  concerned  him.  He  should 
have  to  leave  there  to-morrow;  he  could  never 
implicate  Lee.  But  was  it  possible  he  was  to 
leave  their  employment,  or  any  one's  else,  with 
the  possibility  of  any  reflection  being  cast  upon 
his  name ! 

He  felt  the  blood  rush  burning  hot  into  his 
face.  How  was  he  going  to  bear  this,  even  for 
Lee  ?  And  what  could  he  do  for  Cyp  after  that  ? 

He  looked  idly  down  at  the  paper  again,  and 
started  violently  as  he  saw  what  had  been  blank 
before.  How  could  he  have  been  so  blind  ?  This 
did  make  a  difference.  This  was  the  last  will, 
dated  only  a  few  days  before  Judge  Havisham 
was  taken  ill.  And  it  was  the  "last  will"  that 
his  uncle  wished  set  aside !  He  had  made  it  to 
keep  a  promise  to  Vivian;  he  regretted  it;  he 
struggled  to  his  utmost  to  retract  it  when  he 
felt  that  right  had  stronger  claims  than  Vivian's 
wish. 

It  was  all  plain  now.  He  did  wish  the  first 
one  to  stand.  He  did  wish  the  old  house  to  be 
their  home,  and  every  generous  provision  to  be 
made  for  them,  as  he  would  have  made  it  had  he 
lived. 

Then  they  might  go  back  to  the  house! 
Brainerd  and  Gray  need  be  nothing  to  Wynt. 
He  could  go  on  with  his  studies  and  make  him- 
self what  he  wished,  and  Cyp's  heart  and  eyes 
could  grow  bright  together  once  more.  The 

JadC*  fUTtehUDf  WIIL  I  ~ 


258  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

fight  need  not  be  "hand  to  hand."  There  would 
be  enough  always  without  defrauding  any  one's 
right  and  without  begging  or  borrowing  on  any 
hand. 

A  great  whirling  reaction  rushed  over  Wynt 
and  he  leaned  his  head  upon  his  hand.  Cyp! 
Was  Cyp  to  be  all  right  ? 

It  was  for  one  moment,  however,  and  the  mo- 
ment was  short.  The  next  brought  a  sudden 
sweep  of  awakening  that  dashed  the  cobwebs 
of  this  joyful  dream  away.  He  laughed  an  un- 
natural, excited  little  laugh. 

' '  I  should  not  like  any  one  to  tell  me  I  was 
such  a  dunce!"  he  said,  starting  from  his  chair 
as  if  he  wished  to  shake  himself  into  his  right 
mind.  "I  thought  I  had  learned,  once  for  all, 
that  what  a  man  wishes  is  not  his  will.  The 
other  had  to  stand,  whether  he  said  so  or  not; 
then  so  must  this.  This  is  written  clearly,  from 
beginning  to  end,  and  signed  with  his  dear  old 
name.  No  one  can  dispute  that,  if  they  wish. 
So  Vivian  will  have  her  own  way  even  more 
fully  than  now.  That  is,  she  will  have  the 
money  Mr.  Wilkie  has  taken  in  trust.  But  there 
is  no  danger  of  her  wishing  to  change  anything 
with  us.  We  shall  go  on  just  the  same  of 
course. 

"Only,"  and  Wynt  felt  a  sudden  cry  rising 
up  in  his  heart,  "the  one  single  solid  comfort 
and  blessedness  will  be  gone.  I  thought  I  was 


AT  THE   LAST  MOMENT.  259 

doing  right.  I  was  so  sure  I  was  doing  what 
uncle  wished.  Now  I  know  I  am  not  I  must 
fight  along  simply  because  I  must,  not  for  his 
sake. 

"Well,"  he  added,  after  a  little  time,  "then 
the  fight  is  the  only  question  to  meet  I  've  got 
it  before  me,  sharp,  and  I  wont  forget  that  I  can 
say  it  is  for  Cyp's  sake,  if  no  more.  Now,  then, 
it  couldn't  be  much  thicker,  I'm  sure.  I  don't 
see  exactly  which  end  to  take  hold  of  first  If 
there  were  to  be  one  straw  more — " 

The  words  were  hardly  formed  before  he 
found  that  the  "more"  was  there;  not  a  straw, 
either,  but  a  staggering,  crushing  temptation 
such  as  he  had  not  thought  could  ever  come  to 
him.  This  will,  that  every  one  would  say  must 
stand,  his  uncle  did  not  wish  carried  out  Then 
why  should  he  take  it  to  Mr.  Wilkie?  Why 
might  it  not  lie  for  ever  where  it  had  been  left  ? 
If  he  let  it  do  so,  he  could  take  his  inheritance 
left  him  by  his  uncle's  heart  and  soul  and  very 
last  true  words,  and  life  would  be  life  to  Cyp  and 
himself  the  more.  If  he  took  it  to  Mr.  Wilkie, 
things  would  be  as  the  law  said  was  right,  but  in 
every  other  way  so  bitterly  wrong  ! 

He  stood  gazing  at  the  paper  a  moment, 
scarcely  knowing  what  he  saw.  He  put  his 
hand  to  his  forehead;  he  was  so  tired!  Why 
should  not  he  put  the  thing  out  of  the  way  for 
ever  and  tell  Mr.  Wilkie  he  had  changed  his 


260  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

mind — he  would   take   what   the    acknowledged 
will  gave  him,  for  Cyp's  sake  and  his  own  ? 

But  that  moment  was  shorter  than  the  joyful 
one  had  been.  He  made  a  sudden  gesture  as  if 
spurning  something  from  him,  and  began  to  pace 
the  floor.  "Oh,  where  did  that  thought  come 
from?  It  never  could  have  been  mine.  It  can't 
be  that  I  could  call  wrong  right,  as  Mr.  Brainerd 
thinks  I  can.  Life  would  be  life,  would  it?  It 
would  be  worse  than  death,  you  mean,  Wynt 
Havisham,  with  a  stain  always  to  look  at  on  your 
hands." 

He  stretched  them  out  suddenly  before  him  as 
if  to  some  one  whom  he  could  reach.  "  Oh,  my 
Lord  Christ !  Let  me  hold  fast  to  thee  !  Hold 
me  to  thyself  till  I  take  a  little  rest.  Life  will 
be  life  always,  with  the  right  and  my  Lord  held 
fast.  Poor  as  I  am,  it  has  been  richer  to  me 
lately  than  ever  before.  I  shall  be  strong  again 
to-morrow;  only  to-night  I  cannot  seem  to  see  !" 

He  turned  to  the  table,  took  up  the  paper, 
folded  it,  and  quietly  returned  it  to  the  pocket 
where  it  had  been  found. 

"Yes,  I  shall  be  all  right  to-morrow,"  he  re- 
peated, "if  I  only  hold  on.  I  don't  see  what 
makes  me  so  tired  to-night.  I  wouldn't  go  back 
and  lose  all  my  soul  has  learned  out  of  these  last 
six  months  for  all  a  hundred  wills  could  give  me. 
I  should  think  I  was  no  older  than  Cyp.  I  shall 
be  rich  and  strong  and  happy  again  when  I've 


AT  THE  LAST  MOMENT.  26l 

had  a  night's  sleep,  ready  to  work  like  a  man, 
and  like  more  of  a  man  than  I  was  yesterday  for 
the  very  fight. 

"And  I'll  worry  no  more  about  Cyp  nor 
about  anything  else.  I  am  ashamed  of  myself.  I 
know  it 's  all  right  and  will  be  right  The  love 
Vivian  tried  to  turn  away  from  us  was  true  as 
steel  underneath  all  the  time;  but  our  Christ's  is 
stronger  even  than  that  No  one  can  persuade 
him  away  from  us  for  a  single  hour. 

"Cyp's  drawings  will  have  to  find  something 
else  to  hold  them.  This  portfolio  must  go  down 
town  the  very  first  thing  I  attend  to  when  to- 
morrow conies.  Then  Brainerd  and  Gray  will 
have  to  be  squared  up  to  next" 


262  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

HOLD?    OR  LET  GO? 

THE  "night's  sleep  "  came  quietly  and  refresh- 
ingly to  Wynt;  his  mind  was  made  up.  But  it 
came  late  and  went  early  with  Mr.  Wilkie,  for 
his  was  in  a  tempest  of  torturing  indecision  and 
strain. 

To-morrow  he  must  meet  definitely  and  once 
for  all  the  question  of  working  the  lead-mine  or 
letting  it  go.  The  decision  must  be  made  and 
sent  to  the  point  where  it  was  waited  for,  and  by 
it  his  own  fortunes  must  stand  or  fall.  His  own 
faith  was  as  strong  as  ever  that  through  it  might 
come  relief,  and  relief  not  only  from  the  trying 
position  in  which  losses  had  placed  him,  but  also 
from  the  rapid  approach  of  a  day  when,  through 
no  fault  of  his  own,  heavy  demands  that  he  had 
no  power  to  meet  would  be  at  the  door. 

The  arguments  he  had  met  and  battled  with 
before  arrayed  themselves  in  full  force,  and  the 
onset  was  stronger  and  stronger  as  the  still  hours 
of  the  night  placed  his  own  danger  in  blackest 
coloring  before  him. 

The  risk,  if  he  were  to  meddle  with  money 
entrusted  to  him,  was  virtually,  he  might  almost 
say  absolutely,  nothing.  There  could  not  be  any 


KuLD?    OR   LET  GO?  263 

;Iok  !  A  year,  perhaps  a  few  months  even,  would 
return  it  all  with  interest.  It  would  be  simply 
changing  an  investment  A  trustee  always  had 
discretion  to  do  that. 

Then  suddenly  the  whole  question  would  re- 
verse itself  in  his  mind.  Had  not  many  another 
man  done  this  very  thing:  handled  money  that 
he  had  no  right  to  touch,  feeling  as  sure  as  he  did 
that  all  could  be  made  right,  and  then  found  him- 
self overwhelmed  in  worse  than  ruin  by  the  dis- 
covery that  his  hopes  had  proved  false?  And 
was  it  not  a  thing  he  must  do  secretly,  afraid  even 
to  let  his  right  hand  know  what  his  left  hand 
did  ?  And  was  Hugh  Wilkie  a  man  to  do  what 
he  dared  not  let  the  whole  world  see  spread  be- 
fore their  eyes  ? 

But — and  then  came  rushing  back  all  the  old 
torture  and  despair;  and  he  rose  in  the  morning 
haggard  and  worn.  "It  is  a  desperate  thing," 
he  said.  "  No  one  can  judge  a  desperate  man  by 
common  rules.  I  will  do  no  one  any  harm.  Who 
then  can  say  that  any  man  is  wronged?"  And 
he  walked  to  his  office  with  a  contracted  brow 
and  a  quick,  determined  step. 

Wynt  left  the  cottage  a  few  moments  later, 
with  the  portfolio  and  its  replaced  contents  in  his 
hand.  He  wondered  how  he  could  have  felt  so 
tempest-tossed  about  it  He  had  only  to  go  on  now 
exactly  as  he  had  been  going  on  before,  except  for 
the  loss  of  his  assurance  that  he  was  following  his 


264  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

uncle's  wish.  That  was  a  blow,  it  was  true,  and 
it  was  a  blow  to  find  Mr.  Brainerd  could  suspect 
him  of  a  wrong;  but  with  his  own  heart  and  con- 
science clear  he  should  be  all  right.  If  worst 
came  to  worst,  he  could  tell  Mr.  Wilkie  in  con- 
fidence why  he  was  on  those  horrid  stairs.  He 
would  never  betray  Lee.  And  so  long  as  Mr. 
Wilkie  trusted  him  it  was  little  matter  what  Mr. 
Brainerd  thought.  Life  was  open  to  him  just  as 
much  for  all  that — a  manly,  honorable,  straight- 
forward life,  working  for  Cyp,  respecting  himself, 
useful  to  other  people,  and  enjoying  everything 
and  everybody  as  he  went,  so  far  as  they  could  be 
enjoyed. 

"And  holding  fast  to  my  Leader  at  the  same 
time;  that's  the  best  of  it,"  he  added  mentally. 
"  It 's  a  pleasant  feeling  that  you  're  in  the  hands 
of  a  Prince  like  him.  '  A  man 's  a  man '  when 
he  can  feel  that,  though  he  knows  he 's  the  small- 
est soldier  in  the  list.  And  as  for  'blows,'  it's  a 
poor  soldier  that  can't  take  a  few  as  his  campaign 
goes." 

He  closed  the  cottage  door  and  passed  out  into 
the  driveway,  when  he  saw  Bent  just  ahead, 
standing  as  if  waiting  for  him.  He  would  almost 
rather  not  be  detained  just  now,  but  he  turned 
towards  him  with  a  kindly  word. 

"  I  've  scarcely  had  a  '  how  d'  ye '  with  you  for 
a  month,  Bent,"  he  said.  "And  you  did  not  tell 
me  any  news  after  that  letter  either,  the  other 


HOLD?    OR  LET  GO?  265 

day.     I  don't  seem  to  have  many  spare  minutes, 
between  the  store  and  Cyp.     Is  Mab  all  right?" 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Wynt,  she  always  is,  I  believe,  but 
she's  doing  even  a  little  extra  lately,  strange  as  it 
may  seem — ever  since  Dr.  McPherson  has  been 
coming  to  see  her,  thanks  to  you.  I  thought  at 
first  it  was  partly  his  raising  her  spirits;  but  it 
couldn't  have  been  that,  since  she  seems  to  be 
keeping  it  up  steady,  and  her  spirits  have  had  a 
hard  pull  to  take  them  down  of  late." 

"What  do  you  mean,  Bent?"  asked  Wynt 
hastily.  ( '  Have  you  been  keeping  back  any 
trouble  from  me?" 

"Well,  sir,  I  thought  I  wouldn't  speak  of  it 
till  I  must.  I  thought  maybe  some  way  out  of  it 
would  appear.  But  it  doesn't  seem  so,  and  I 
thought  I  'd  better  let  you  know  that  Miss  Vivian 
thinks  to  come  in  April,  and — "  Bent  hesitated. 

"What  is  it,  Bent?  You  mustn't  keep 
things  back — things  that  trouble  you,  I  mean. 
Suppose  she  does  come?  You  '11  like  having  the 
house  full  again,  of  course," 

"I  might,  sir,  if  it  were  to  make  any  differ- 
ence to  me.  But  I  believe  my  day  is  done  in  the 
old  house.  Miss  Vivian  will  bring  a  new  butler 
with  her,  she  says." 

Wynt  started  as  if  he  had  been  shot  "  A  new 
butler  !  Are  you  in  your  senses,  or  am  I  out  of 
mine?  What  are  you  talking  about?  You  're  a 
part  of  the  house  itself." 


266  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

"That's  just  the  trouble,  as  I'm  sure  she 
looks  at  it,  Mr.  Wynt.  An  old  house  can  be  fur- 
bished up,  but  an  old  man  can't.  A  younger  but- 
ler will  bring  more  style  with  him  for  her,  you 
know." 

Wynt  did  not  know  whether  it  was  a  little 
groan  or  an  outcry  of  indignation  that  escaped 
him  as  he  looked  at  Bent  and  felt  in  a  moment 
that  it  must  be  true.  Bent  had  not  made  a  mis- 
take; it  was  too  like  Vivian.  And  yet  he  would 
not  have  thought  this,  even  of  her. 
•  "And  how  long  have  you  known  this,  Bent?" 
he  asked. 

"Since  the  letter  you  saw  with  me  the  other 
day.  I  thought  you  were  pressed  upon  enough, 
and  too  much  by  far,  for  that  matter,  and  I  would 
not  be  bringing  my  troubles  to  you  so  long  as  I 
could  keep  them  off.  I  hoped  to  find  some  one 
who  would  want  an  old  man;  but  Miss  Vivian 
doesn't  seem  altogether  by  herself.  She's  quite 
right  about  it,  as  I'm  beginning  to  see." 

"Right !"  exclaimed  Wynt  between  his  teeth. 
"And  April  is  almost  here  !" 

"  Yes,  sir.  That's  why  I  thought  it  time  to 
speak  of  it,  so  that  you  might  be  expecting  her. 
We  shall  have  to  leave  the  cottage,  there's  no 
doubt,  and  it  will  be  hard  to  see  less  of  you.  It 's 
your  coming  past  and  in  and  out,  and  Mr.  Cyp's, 
that  keeps  the  breath  of  the  old  days  alive." 

"  It  can't  be !    She  would  not  take  the  cottage 


HOLD?    OR   LET  GO?  267 

from  you  and  Mab !  If  she  does,  Cyp  and  I  will 
stampede  from  Barbie's  and  leave  you  there. 
That  will  leave  Mab  all  right.  No  one  can  take 
Barbie's  house  away  from  her  while  she  lives, 
you  know,  and  I  think  she's  good  for  a  long 
stretch  yet.  But  how  have  you  been  standing  it 
all?" 

Bent  smiled  quietly,  but  the  smile  went  to 
Wynt's  heart  "Well,  sir,  there 's  only  one  way, 
you  know.  Mab 's  had  her  lessons  in  it  and 
learned  them  well,  but  it  took  me  longer  to  get 
quite  settled  in  my  mind.  You  can't  break  Mab 
down  any  way,  you  know;  she  wont  let  go. 
She  was  nearer  to  it,  for  a  little  time,  in  that 
matter  of  Jem  than  I  've  seen  her  before  or  since; 
but  her  courage  is  strong  this  time.  She's  got 
fast  hold.  It  pains  her  sharp  for  me  that  I  got 
such  a  wound;  but  she's  sure  our  Lord  has  it 
all  at  heart  And  I  can't  be  less  sure  with  her 
before  me;  so  we're  all  right" 

Wynt  got  Bent's  hand  between  both  his  with 
a  grip.  "Bent,  you'll  never  be  an  old  man  to 
me.  I  '11  have  a  house  of  my  own  some  day,  and 
the  moment  I  do  you  're  in  it,  if  it  *s  only  twenty 
feet  square." 

He  went  on  with  the  consciousness  of  a  keen 
new  pain  that  put  the  questions  pressing  a  mo- 
ment before  quite  out  of  sight  "Bring  a  new 
butler  with  her!  Bent  hasn't  lost  an  inch  in  the 
last  ten  years;  I've  heard  uncle  say  so  many  a 


268  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

time.  And  I  believe  he  would  have  turned 
round  and  waited  upon  the  old  fellow,  himself, 
rather  than  send  him  adrift  like  this.  He  trusted 
him  to  Vivian,  as  he  did  us.  I  believe  he  will 
know  it  in  heaven  if  she  really  does  this  thing. ' ' 

But  hot  feeling  makes  quick  walking,  and  he 
was  soon  nearing  the  block  which  held  the  store 
and  the  law-office  at  once. 

What  was  Jem  hovering  about  the  store  door 
for  ?  It  looked  as  if  he  were  another  one  waiting 
for  a  talk.  He  was  fidgeting  a  little  about  some 
freight;  but  Wynt  could  see  there  was  nothing  in 
that 

He  came  up  with  him  in  a  moment  and  found 
himself  right.  Jem  stepped  forward  and  met 
him,  with  a  lift  of  his  cap. 

"I  was  waiting  to  speak  with  you,  sir,  if  I 
could  have  a  word.  I  wont  keep  you  a  moment, 
but  there 's  something  I  'd  like  to  say." 

"All  right,  Jem,"  answered  Wynt,  although 
inwardly  wondering  if  this  was  to  be  another 
"stolen  interview"  laid  up  by  the  senior  partner 
to  his  score. 

"I  just  want  to  say,  sir,  that  I  can't  get  along 
with  it  another  day — not  with  the  feeling  that 
I'm  standing  out  against  a  girl  like  Mab,  I 
mean.  I  wouldn't  give  in  to  it  when  you  first 
pointed  it  out;  not  a  peg.  She'd  wounded  me 
sore,  I  thought,  though  I  've  seen  plain  enough 
since  that  it  was  I  had  the  whole  wrong  of  it, 


HOLD?    OR  LET  GO?  269 

after  all.  But  I  couldn't  bring  myself  to  give 
in,  the  more  shame,  and  I  kept  repeating  'twould 
be  no  use  if  I  did;  she  could  never  make  up." 

"  But  you  're  ready  now,  Jem  ?"  asked  Wynt 
eagerly. 

"Yes,  sir;  I've  watched  you  in  the  mean- 
time, and  I  've  seen  and  knowed  more  than  you 
thought,  and  it 's  broken  me  down  altogether  at 
last,  noting  your  going  on.  I've  seen  how  you 
could  take  a  wrong,  and  a  mean  one  too,  many  a 
time,  and  how  you  just  kept  yourself  true  as  a 
man,  whatever  any  other  might  say  or  do.  I  've 
knowed  you  far  above  me  always,  as  a  gentle- 
man, and  been  content  to  let  it  be  so  as  we  were 
born;  but  it's  as  open  to  me  as  to  you  to  be  a 
man,  and  a  true  one,  and  I  couldn't  rest  I'm 
driven  to  follow  on,  though  it'll  be  long  enough 
before  I  overtake. 

"So  I'm  just  going  to  Mab  to  tell  her  so. 
She  never  did  me  any  wrong,  nor  couldn't,  and 
I'm  not  fit  for  her;  but  I'll  make  myself  nearer 
to  it  as  time  goes  on.  So  if  she'll  stoop  to  take 
me  back,  as  lover  or  friend,  it 's  all  I  ask.  And 
if  there 's  anything  worth  her  taking  she  owes  it 
to  you,  and  that 's  all  I  have  to  say." 

"And  a  great  deal  too  much,  Jem.  I  don't 
know  what  you  're  talking  about,  as  far  as  I  'm 
concerned.  Of  course  you  can  be  as  much  of  a 
man  as  I  am,  and  more;  for  you  can  keep  your 
place  in  the  world,  and  I  'm  not  sure  that  I  can. 


270  .  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

But  as  for  Mab,  I'm  thankful  you've  come  to 
the  right  of  it  at  last.  And  you  couldn't  have 
brought  light  into  a  much  darker  sky  this  morn- 
ing. Fly  off  to  her,  Jem!  Don't  let  the  grass 
grow  under  your  feet  Do  you  know  they're  in 
a  peck  of  trouble  up  there?  You'll  find  chance 
enough  to  make  up  for  the  past." 

V/hat  was  Mr.  Wynt  saying  ?  Mab  and  Bent 
weie  in  trouble?  Jem  sprang  upon  the  wagon 
and  shook  the  reins  over  the  horse's  back.  He 
had  an  errand  for  the  store  in  the  direction  of 
Havisham  gate,  and  had  been  planning  to  save 
out  a  few  minutes  for  Mab  by  haste.  He  could 
not  make  haste  enough  now! 


TURNED  INTO  DAY.  271 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

TURNED  INTO  DAY. 

WYNT  went  quickly  up  the  office  stairs,  for 
he  had  time  to  make  up  as  well  as  Jem.  But  his 
step  was  as  light  as  it  was  quick;  there  was  one 
big  ray  of  light  coming  in,  at  least.  Bent  and 
Mab  would  get  some  comfort  in  their  trouble 
after  all. 

He  opened  the  door  quietly;  there  was  no  one 
inside.  Mr.  Wilkie  must  be  in  his  private  room. 
He  was  almost  sure  to  be  in  at  this  hour  in  the 
day. 

Wynt  went  on  to  the  next  door,  which  was 
closed,  and  knocked.  There  was  an  instant's 
hesitation,  a  sound  of  closing  and  locking  a 
drawer,  and  then  a  quick  "  Come  in." 

Wynt  opened  the  door  and  stepped  inside. 
Mr.  Wilkie  sat  at  his  desk  with  a  look  that  struck 
Wynt  as  not  quite  his  own — excited  and  a  little 
disturbed. 

"Oh,  I'm  sure  I'm  interrupting  you,"  he 
said.  "Let  me  come  in  again.  There  are  so 
many  more  important  things.  Mine  can  wait 
I  can  leave  it  here." 

"No,  no,"  said  Mr.  Wilkie,  with  an  uncon- 
scious glance  towards  the  locked  drawer.  "I'm 


272  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

glad  to  see  you.  Pleasant  subjects  exchanged  for 
unpleasant  ones,  you  know;"  and  he  laughed  a 
little,  but,  as  Wynt  thought  once  more,  in  not 
quite  his  natural  way. 

In  another  moment,  however,  he  had  collected 
himself  and  was  turning  to  Wynt  with  almost 
his  own  easy  friendliness.  "  You  're  an  early 
bird  this  morning,"  he  said.  "You  ought  to 
catch  something  worth  having.  What  are  you 
doing  with  that  portfolio?  It's  the  one  you 
cleared  the  papers  out  offer  me  once,  is  it  not?" 

"It  is  the  one  I  thought  I  cleared  out,  Mr. 
Wilkie.  But  it  has  its  secrets,  it  seems,  like 
some  other  things,  and  Cyp  hunted  this  out  for 
us,  this  thin  little  pocket  that  I  never  once 
noticed  before." 

"And  there  is  something  in  it?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Wynt  quietly;  and  he  drew 
out  the  paper  and  handed  it  to  the  lawyer. 

Mr.  Wilkie  took  it,  glanced  at  it,  and  uttered 
an  exclamation  sudden  and  strong.  It  was  no 
trouble  for  him  to  take  in  the  whole  thing  as  it 
had  been  for  Wynt.  He  saw  it  all  in  an  instant, 
and  in  the  signature  as  well  as  the  whole  hand- 
writing there  lay  no  possibility  of  doubt.  The 
judge  seemed  risen  before  him  in  the  clear, 
peculiar  characters  that  almost  spoke. 

He  looked  quickly  and  keenly  into  Wynt's 
face,  then  for  an  instant  at  the  paper  again. 
"Well,  Wynt,"  he  said,  fixing  his  eyes  on  his 


TURNED  INTO  DAY.  373 

visitor,  "this  tells  a  tale.  We  know  now  what 
was  the  *  last  will '  your  uncle  wanted  to  knock 
over  at  the  eleventh  hour.  What  do  you  think 
of  this?" 

"To  tell  the  truth,  Mr.  Wilkie,  on  one 
account  I'd  rather  it  had  not  been  found." 

"You  would,  upon  my  word!  May  I  ask 
why?" 

"  Because  it  takes  away  the  great  satisfaction 
I  had  in  knocking  along  where  I  am.  I  thought 
it  was  where  he  wanted  us  to  be;  or  that  he  did 
not  want  us  where  the  other  will  would  have  put 
us,  at  least  But  now  that  's  all  upset  and  gone. 
He  wanted  us  in  the  old  home  and  with  all  that 
his  generous  love  could  provide  for  us.  We  shall 
go  along  just  the  same  of  course,  Cyp  and  I,  but 
I  shall  not  have  the  comfort  of  thinking  that  I 
am  true  to  him." 

"Ah!  That  is  the  'one  account'  on  which 
you  wish  it  were  not  found.  Are  there  others 
on  which  you,  on  the  other  hand,  congratulate 
yourself?" 

"There  is  one  other  that  almost  balances  the 
first  No  one  can  ever  say  now  that  he  was 
not  true  to  us  to  the  very  last  Vivian  had  per- 
suaded him  into  a  mistake  for  a  few  days,  but 
that  was  all.  The  moment  he  saw  it,  it  was 
undone. ' ' 

"Ah  !"  said  Mr.  Wilkie  again,  with  his  eye 
fastened  upon  the  paper  now  and  not  seeming  to 

JiulW*  HtvUbMo'l  Will.  I  8 


274  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

see  Wynt.  "And  may  I  ask  again,  why  is  it  'of 
course '  that  you  and  Cyp  '  will  go  along  just  the 
same'?" 

Wynt  began  to  grow  almost  impatient  He 
was  not  sure  he  cared  to  be  catechised  to  this  ex- 
tent, and  Mr.  Wilkie  surely  had  drilled  him  into 
recognizing  the  fact  that  a  will  duly  written  and 
signed  must  rule  by  law. 

"  Because,"  he  said,  "by  your  own  teaching, 
Mr.  Wilkie,  my  uncle's  wish  to  set  aside  his  will 
is  nothing.  The  will  itself  must  stand.  This  one 
leaves  everything  to  Vivian  and  to  her  considera- 
tion, and  she  considers  that  we  are  very  suitably 
settled  where  we  are." 

A  slight  gleam  of  a  smile  showed  itself  about 
Mr.  Wilkie' s  mouth,  but  it  was  gone  again. 
"  You  are  a  good  law  student,  Wynt.  You  have 
learned  all  I  taught  you  and  I  hope  to  teach  you 
more.  But  now  just  one  question — that  is  to  say, 
if  I'm  not  keeping  you  too  long.  Are  you  in 
haste?" 

Wynt  hesitated.  "  Only  that  I  should  be  late 
at  the  store." 

"  Well,  I  '11  only  detain  you  a  moment.  This 
will,  we  see  plainly,  is  the  one  your  uncle  regret- 
ted and  wished  to  destroy.  Has  it  occurred  to 
you  that  if  you  were,  accordingly,  to  destroy  it,  or 
simply  let  it  lie  where  it  is,  you  could  accept  your 
full  inheritance  from  the  other  with  no  wrong 
done  to  the  testator,  but  the  contrary  in  fact?" 


TURNED  INTO  DAY.  275 

Wynt  flushed  violently.  "Oh,-  why 'do  you 
ask  ine  such  a  question?  I  don't  even  know 
that  you  have  a  right  to  ask  it.  Yes !  The 
thought  did  'occur'  to  me !  That 's  exactly  what 
it  did.  It  was  none  of  my  seeking.  I  hated  it 
when  it  came  and  got  rid  of  it  as  fast  as  possible.'' 

"Ah  !    And  did  it  take  you  long?" 

"  No,  it  did  not  I  knew  this  paper  to  be  a 
matter  that  belongs  to  the  law  and  to  Vivian.  I 
had  no  business  to  meddle  with  it  What  do  you 
take  me  for  ?  Mr.  Brainerd  does  not  half  believe 
in  me.  What  right  have  people  to  talk  to  me  in 
such  a  way?" 

Mr.  Wilkie  drew  his  mouth  in  form  for  a  whis- 
tle, but  it  could  scarcely  be  heard.  "Well,  then, 
Wynt,  I  suppose  you  see,  of  course,  that  if  you 
are  settled  down  under  this  thing  there  can  be  no 
change.  As  things  were  before  you  had  only  to 
face  about,  any  day,  and  say  you  had  had 
enough." 

"  I  see  it,  of  course." 

"  But  it  seems  to  me  you  are  carrying  a  pretty 
heavy  load  for  a  man  of  your  age.  There  are 
some  things  that  press  quite  a  little,  if  I  don't 
mistake." 

"  Yes.  One  of  them  is  that  Mr.  Brainerd  has 
put  a  test  matter  before  me  where  I  can't  yield, 
and  the  alternative  is  he  will  request  me  to  walk 
out  I  think  I  ought  to  mention  it  to  you." 

The  whistle  came  now,  clear  and  strong,  but 


276  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Mr.  Wilkie  only  looked  at  the  paper  on  the  desk. 
' '  That  might  make  it  troublesome  for  you  to  get 
in  anywhere  else." 

"Yes." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence. 

"And  Cyp?  McPherson  tells  me  he  thinks 
Cyp  does  not  take  to  his  new  life  in  a  way  exactly 
for  his  health." 

Wynt  started.  Oh,  why  did  Mr.  Wilkie  bring 
that  up  ?  Why  must  he  torture  him  at  that  one 
tenderest  point  of  all?  "I'd  lay  down  my  life 
for  Cyp,  Mr.  Wilkie,  as  I  think  you  very  well 
know,  but  I  think  he  would  lay  down  his  rather 
than  have  his  brother  build  it  up  for  him  on  a 
wrong.  It  would  not  be  worth  much  to  either  of 
us  after  that" 

Silence  again. 

"  And  what  do  you  propose  to  do  then?" 

Wynt  hesitated  once  more.  Why  should  he 
feel  annoyance  at  questions  Mr.  Wilkie  had 
thought  best  to  ask?  He  had  his  reasons,  no 
doubt.  They  had  stirred  him  up  horridly  just 
after  he  had  got  the  whole  thing  off  his  mind, 
but  still — and  he  looked  back  at  Mr.  Wilkie  with 
one  of  his  old  quick,  gleaming  smiles. 

"There's  only  one  thing  I  can  do,  Mr.  Wil- 
kie. I  must  just  '  hold  on  the  tighter  the  harder 
things  pull.'  That's  a  saying  Cyp  got  off  by 
accident  one  day  and  it  seems  to  stick  in  the 
family  conscience." 


TURNED  INTO   DAY.  277 

"Ah!  And  what  do  you  propose  to  hold 
on  to?" 

"To  the  right,  and  by  His  help  to  the  one 
Friend  who  never  urges  me  to  let  go  of  it  I 
don't  quite  understand  you,  Mr.  Wilkie,  to-day. 
Why  do  you  talk  to  me  about  doing  a  wicked 
wrong?" 

In  an  instant  Mr.  Wilkie  had  sprung  to  his 
feet  and  was  grasping  Wynt  by  the  hand.  "I 
beg  your  pardon,  Wynt.  I  owe  you  that,  but 
you  have  not  understood  me,  it  is  true.  I  wanted 
to  probe  you  to  the  depth,  that  was  all,  and  find 
what  was  there,  for  your  sake  and  mine  at  once. 
I  have  found  it,  and  I  am  satisfied.  I  thought  it 
would  do  me  good,  and  it  has.  I  owe  you  more 
than  to  beg  your  pardon,  and  I  will  pay  it  if  I 
ever  can.  God  forbid  that  I  should  talk  to  you 
in  earnest  about  a  wrong. 

"  Now,  then,  we  are  ready.  Let  me  have  the 
happiness  of  blotting  out  even  the  memory  of  all 
this.  You  're  a  good  law  student,  as  I  told  you, 
Wynt;  but,  as  I  promised,  let  me  teach  you  one 
thing  more.  This  will  is  good  for  nothing,  and 
simply  leaves  you  free  to  consider  the  other  as 
the  expression  of  your  uncle's  true  desire.  You 
forgot,  perhaps,  that  the  testator's  signature, 
even,  is  valueless  in  a  case  like  this  without  wit- 
nesses and  seals.  Judge  Havisham  knew  that, 
and  I  doubt  not  left  the  paper  thus  unfinished  be- 
cause he  could  not  up  to  that  time  quite  bring  his 


278  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

heart  to  validate  it.  His  last  words  to  you  were, 
unquestionably,  to  assure  you,  when  this  will 
should  be  found,  that  his  love  and  faithfulness 
to  you  and  Cyp  had  proved  stronger  than  a 
promise  wrung  from  him  in  an  unguarded  hour. 
He  had  fulfilled  his  promise;  he  had  made  an- 
other will.  But  he  had  as  true  a  right  to  revoke 
the  second  as  the  first,  if  a  later  choice  outbal- 
anced it. 

"  You  can  take  your  inheritance  freely,  Wynt, 
without  fear  that  you  do  any  man  wrong,  and 
without  the  pain  of  feeling  your  uncle  did  one, 
to  you  or  any  one  on  earth.  You  can  take  care 
of  Cyp — put  him  into  the  old  house  to-morrow — 
and  you  can  march  down  and  mention  to  Brain- 
nerd  and  Gray  that  you  want  nothing  more  on 
that  floor.  I  am  going  to  move  you  up  one  flight 
and  keep  you  with  me." 


REPARATION.  279 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

REPARATION. 

WYNT  left  Mr.  Wilkie  much  more  quietly 
than  Mr.  Wilkie  passed  the  next  half-hour  by 
himself. 

The  first  ten  minutes  were  spent  in  pacing  the 
floor  of  his  inner  office  excitedly,  the  door  tightly 
closed.  Occasionally  he  glanced  towards  the 
locked  drawer  with  an  expression  of  horror  and 
triumph  strangely  mixed. 

"That  boy  has  saved  me  from  more  than  he 
will  ever  know!  That  man,  I  might  rather  say, 
but  seventeen  though  he  is.  I  begin  to  think 
following  that  *  Lord  Christ '  of  his  makes  a  man 
out  of  any  age.  *  Holding  on  to  the  right '  and 
to  that  unseen  Leader  and  Friend,  was  he? 
'Holding  on  tighter  the  harder  things  pulled.* 
It  must  have  taken  all  that  to  keep  him  where 
he's  been.  And  I — "  he  glanced  towards  the 
desk  again — "I  was  mightily  near  to  letting  go! 
I  wouldn't  have  answered  for  myself  an  hour 
longer;  and  what  then?  Was  Hugh  Wilkie  to 
have  gone  about  'building  on  a  wrong,'  and 
that  wrong  tumbling  over  on  his  head  some  day, 
possibly,  beside?  Thank  God,  and  thank  Wynt 
Havisham,  that  temptation  is  past  for  ever!  It 


280  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

can  have  no  more  power  than  ashes  over  me 
again." 

He  unlocked  the  drawer,  took  out  the  papers 
that  had  been  so  near  helping  him  towards  a 
stained  integrity,  and  carried  them  back  to  the 
safe,  the  look  of  triumph  even  stronger  in  his 
face.  He  was  Hugh  Wilkie  again  now,  but 
Hugh  Wilkie  knowing  himself  better  than  he 
had  before  known  him. 

His  stern  love  of  uprightness,  his  honor,  his 
self-respect,  he  had  thought  they  never  could  be 
touched.  But  they  had  been  touched,  and  they 
had  bent  almost  far  enough  to  consent  that  wrong 
was  right!  And  if  they  had  done  so  once,  could 
he  assure  himself  for  all  time  that  danger  would 
not  come  again  ?  Should  he  not  rather  reach  out 
to  that  unseen  Hand  Wynt  anchored  to  and  try 
" holding  on"  there?  And  had  Hugh  Wilkie, 
after  all,  ever  been  the  true  man  he  had  thought 
himself,  refusing  allegiance  to  the  Leader  who 
had  lived  and  died  for  him  ? 

Wynt  meanwhile  had  walked  quietly  into  his 
place  again  and  gone  to  work,  pen  in  hand. 
The  book-keeper  was  even  later  than  himself  this 
morning,  and  Wynt  would  not  speak  a  word  to 
Mr.  Brainerd,  if  he  could  help  it,  until  that  error 
had  been  found. 

It  must  be  found  very  soon  now,  he  was  sure. 
Almost  everything  had  been  looked  over.  It 
could  not  take  much  more  time. 


REPARATION.  C3l 

After  that,  however,  he  did  not  care  what 
came.  Brainerd  and  Gray?  If  they  wished 
questions  answered  that  he  chose  to  decline, 
what  then  ? 

He  was  not  sure  going  into  Mr.  Wilkie's 
office  was  the  best  thing.  He  was  young  for 
that  yet.  Work  was  not  hurting  him.  Why 
should  he  not  stay  where  he  was,  if  the  firm 
wanted  him?  If  they  did  not,  all  right  He 
knew  himself  too  well  for  their  opinion  to  trouble 
him.  Mr.  Wilkie  had  evidently  scorned  any  im- 
putation they  could  bring. 

These  thoughts  only  passed  through  his  mind 
disjointedly  among  a  crowd  of  others  that  came 
sweeping  in,  while  under  them  and  through 
them  and  over  them  thrilled  his  strange,  great 
joy. 

How  was  it  possible  everything  had  come 
right  at  once  ? 

He  need  never  even  ask  himself  what  his 
uncle's  love  had  been.  Cyp  was  all  right!  He, 
Wynt,  could  choose  his  own  work  now  and  go 
about  it  steadily,  without  being  torn  every  way 
with  questions  as  to  whether  it  was  all  right  for 
Cyp.  And  they  had  a  share  in  the  old  home, 
"every  beam  and  rafter  of  it,"  as  his  uncle  had 
said.  Vivian  might  feel  as  she  pleased;  he  could 
walk  through  it,  every  floor  of  it,  feeling  like  a 
man. 

And  Jem  had  been  to  Mab!     And  Bent?    He 


282  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

started  suddenly.  Possibly,  if  he  and  Cyp  went 
into  the  house,  there  might  be  a  difference  about 
Bent. 

The  figures  lay  before  him  and  his  eye  kept 
close  upon  them,  but  his  work  did  not  go  on  very 
fast.  That  would  not  do.  He  must  steady 
things  down  better  than  that. 

The  book-keeper  came  in  and  the  morning 
moved  almost  silently  on.  Warnock  passed  the 
office  now  and  then,  and  Wynt  could  feel,  without 
raising  his  eyes,  that  a  very  meaning  look  was 
upon  his  face. 

"It  will  be  a  relief  if  I  leave  here,"  Wynt 
thought,  "not  to  see  him  any  more.  Somehow 
the  sight  of  that  man  makes  my  soul  sick." 

Warnock,  meanwhile,  upon  his  part,  was  in- 
dulging in  some  reflections  equally  pleasing  to 
himself.  His  plans  in  Wynt's  direction  seemed 
nearing  their  climax  at  last  It  would  not  take 
more  than  this  day,  he  felt  sure,  to  reward  him 
for  all  he  had  so  patiently  tried  to  work  out.  In 
his  elation  he  forgot  that  it  is  not  wise  to  let 
approaching  triumph  throw  one  off  his  guard. 

"Where's  Havisham?"  Lee  asked,  from  an- 
other part  of  the  store  where  he  had  been  kept 
that  day.  ' { Has  he  come  in  ?' ' 

"Yes,  I  believe  he  has,"  answered  Warnock, 
unable  to  restrain  himself  and  with  an  expres- 
sion that  he  tried  to  conceal.  "  It  is  to  be  hoped 
he 's  making  good  use  of  his  time  while  he  stays." 


REPARATION.  283 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Lee,  facing 
about  suddenly. 

"Oh,  not  much.  Only,"  and  the  sneer  deep- 
ened visibly,  "  perfection 's  not  perfection  always, 
and  the  firm  are  getting  a  few  things  against  the 
young  man's  score,  I  think." 

In  an  instant  he  saw  that  he  had  gone  too  far. 
He  had  overreached  himself;  he  had  "given  him- 
self away." 

"  If  they  are,  it 's  a  false  score,  then,"  retorted 
Lee  almost  fiercely;  "and  more  than  that,  I 
know  who  has  been  working  it  up  for  him,  too." 

He  stopped  for  one  withering  look,  and  then, 
almost  before  Warnock  knew  what  had  happened, 
had  left  him  behind  and  was  at  the  private  office 
door. 

"Come  in,"  said  Mr.  Brainerd's  voice,  and 
Lee  stepped  before  him  with  an  excited  face. 

"I  beg  your  pardon!  I  hear  there  has  been 
a  '  score  running  up '  against  Havisham." 

Mr.  Brainerd's  look  of  surprise  was  followed 
by  a  peculiar  smile.  "He  told  you  so  him- 
self, probably.  He  thought  you  could  help  him 
out" 

"No;  he  did  not.  It  was  told  me  by  some 
one  who  knows  more  than  he  should  about  it, 
I  'm  very  sure.  Are  you  willing  to  tell  me  what 
the  charges  are?  They  are  false  as  darkness, 
whoever  brought  them  on." 

Mr.  Brainerd's  face  darkened.     "  You  are  get- 


284  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL, 

ting  too  warm,  young  man.  Perhaps  I  am  a  bet- 
ter judge  of  sources  of  information  than  you. 
And  in  this  case  the  special  'score,'  as  you  are 
pleased  to  call  it,  is  not  marked  by  any  l  charge,' 
but  by  something  that  I  saw,  fortunately  or  un- 
fortunately, myself." 

u  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  ever  saw  Havi- 
sham  in  any  wrong?" 

Mr.  Brainerd  hesitated.  He  was  accustomed 
to  sit  as  questioner,  not  as  questioned,  in  his  room. 
And  yet  was  there  not  an  opportunity  here  to 
give  Lee  a  very  desirable  warning  that  he  might 
otherwise  miss?  If  Havisham  should  by  any 
possibility  come  round  with  a  fair  explanation, 
and  chose  to  keep  silent  about  the  affair  towards 
Lee,  he  would  not  hear  of  it 

"You  ask  altogether  too  much  explanation, 
sir;  you  forget  yourself,  as  I  reminded  you  before. 
But  I  will  tell  you  one  thing  for  your  good. 
When  I  see  a  young  man  coming  down  a  very 
questionable  flight  of  stairs,  with  entertainment 
at  the  top  of  them  that  is  kept  scrupulously  in  the 
shade,  and  if  he  declines  most  positively  to  tell 
me  what  interest  took  him  there,  I  have  no  more 
use  for  him  in  my  employ.  Our  relations  end 
then  and  there." 

Lee  stood  for  one  moment  looking  fixedly  at 
him  without  a  word.  His  father  had  seen  Wynt 
coming  down  that  night  ?  Wynt  had  declined  to 
tell  him  what  he  went  there  for  ?  Had  that  been 


REPARATION.  285 

going  on  all  this  time,  with  no  suspicion  of  it 
coming  to  him  ? 

UI  see  you  understand  me,"  Mr.  Brainerd 
added,  gratified  to  perceive  that  an  impression 
had  evidently  been  made.  "That  is  all  that  is 
necessary  to  be  said  upon  the  subject  then." 

Lee  started  and  seemed  to  know  where  he 
was  again  suddenly.  "I  beg  your  pardon,  sir. 
There  is  something  further,  if  you  please.  If 
Wynt  will  not  tell  you  what  '  interest '  took  him 
up  those  stairs,  I  will.  Why  has  all  this  been 
kept  back  from  me?  It  was  my  interest.  And 
yours  too,  so  far  as  you  care  what  becomes  of  me. 
He  went  there,  as  far  as  the  top  step  at  least,  be- 
cause he  caught  my  face  at  the  window,  like  the 
idiot  I  am.  He  went  to  drag  me  away  and  get 
me  to  make  a  man  of  myself  again.  He  did  not 
succeed;  but  he  put  himself  on  ground  he  despised 
and  hated,  to  try  for  it  And  that  is  what  he  was 
trying  when  Warnock  caught  us  together,  and  has 
tried  ever  since  he  came  into  the  store.  If  I'd 
been  worth  the  tenth  of  his  little  finger,  he'd 
have  conquered  me  long  ago.  But  he's  broken 
me  all  up  now.  I  '11  try  to  make  myself  worth 
that  tenth,  if  no  more.  You  will  have  no  further 
trouble  with  me,  sir,  if  I  see  myself  turning  to 
mummy,  stock,  and  stone  in  this  store." 

Mr.  Brainerd  listened  to  this  excited  harangue, 
more  bewildered,  if  possible,  than  Lee  had  been  a 
few  moments  before.  What  was  the  boy  saying  ? 


286  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

It  was  to  shield  him  that  Wynt  had  kept  silence, 
at  the  risk  of  disgrace  to  himself?  And  he  had 
been  trying  to  reclaim  Lee  all  the  time,  working 
at  him  as  if  the  task  belonged  to  him?  And 
could  a  boy  like  this  —  was  it  likely  that  any 
other  of  Warnock's  insinuations  against  him 
could  have  had  fair  ground  ? 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  tap  at  the  door, 
and  the  book-keeper  looked  in.  "  I  beg  pardon. 
I'd  like  just  to  say  that  I 've  come  on  that  error 
at  last;  my  own,  as  I  had  no  doubt  it  was.  A 
slight  one,  but  very  careless,  and  upsetting  a  good 
many  things,  of  course." 

Lee  watched  his  father's  face  as  he  heard  what 
was  said,  while  his  own  reflections  ran  thus: 
' c  Very  good !  And  it  was  near  upsetting  one 
thing  more  than  the  book-keeper  thought  of  too, 
I  rather  think.  There's  been  a  burning  shame 
somewhere,  and  Warnock's  at  the  bottom  of  it, 
I  'm  more  than  sure." 

Mr.  Brainerd  would  have  been  ready  to  agree 
with  Lee  if  he  had  spoken  aloud.  There  had 
been  ua  burning  shame  somewhere,"  and  he 
could  only  reproach  himself  mercilessly  that  he 
had  been  so  easily  blinded,  allowing  himself  to 
be  prejudiced  where  not  a  single  fact  could  be 
made  to  stand  as  foundation  for  a  charge. 

And  as  if  that  was  not  enough,  here  was  Lee  ! 
Havisham  had  been  doing  and  sacrificing  every- 
thing for  him,  and  what  was  Lee  saying?  That 


REPARATION.  287 

Brainerd  and  Gray  were  to  have  no  more  trouble 
with  him? 

"Lee,  you  are  quite  sure  you  are  right? 
There  is  no  mistake  in  all  this?  in  what  you 
think  you  know  about  Havisham?"  Mr.  Brain- 
erd asked,  turning  towards  his  son  as  the  book- 
keeper closed  the  door. 

"None,  except  that  I  don't  know  half  the 
high  soul  there's  in  him!  I  can't,  it's  so  far 
above  mine.  But  I  'm  going  to  fight  along  after 
it,  as  well  as  in  me  lies,  and  see  if  I  can  make 
myself  fit  to  fasten  his  shoe.  Don't  say  a  word 
to  me  about  it,  though.  Wait  till  I  can  show  you 
some  proof." 

Mr.  Brainerd  hesitated.  The  mere  words 
without  the  proof  gave  him  greater  happiness 
than  he  had  felt  for  many  a  disheartened  day. 
Still,  if  Lee  wished  it,  perhaps  it  was  better  not 
to  touch  him  with  even  a  congratulation  just 
now. 

"I'll  watch  for  your  proof  then  thankfully, 
Lee,"  was  accordingly  all  he  said.  "Now  go, 
and  send  me  Mr.  Warnock,  if  you  '11  be  so 
good." 

The  summons  was  quickly  answered. 

"Warnock,  go  and  bring  Mr.  Havisham  here; 
I  will  see  you  together,  if  you  please." 

The  clerk  obeyed  instantly;  his  moment  had 
come  at  last !  But  there  was  one  thing  that  had 
struck  his  ear  very  strangely,  nevertheless — that 


288  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

transposing  of  the  uMr."  that  belonged  before 
his  name. 

"Now  for  it !"  thought  Wynt,  as  the  face  he 
always  liked  to  avoid  seeing  looked  into  the  office 
with  a  hidden  triumph  in  its  smile.  "I  hope 
neither  of  them  will  say  anything  that  self-respect 
can't  pass  unnoticed;  that's  all.  I  shall  never 
answer  that  question,  whatever  comes." 

Warnock  had  slipped  out  of  sight  again  hast- 
ily after  delivering  his  message,  and  was  standing 
by  Mr.  Brainerd's  chair  when  Wynt  reached  the 
room.  Wynt  met  his  eyes  steadily  for  an  instant 
and  then  turned  to  the  head  of  the  firm. 

u  You  wished  to  see  me,  I  believe?" 

Mr.  Brainerd  rose,  came  forward,  and  held  out 
his  hand.  "Yes,  Mr.  Havisham,  I  do.  I  wish 
to  beg  your  pardon  for  any  unjust  suspicion  or 
unkindness  I  may  have  held  towards  you  or 
made  you  feel.  I  have  done  you  great  wrong, 
while  you  were  sacrificing  yourself  for  a  noble 
service  to  my  boy  and  me.  I  regret  it  extremely, 
and  I  wish  to  tell  you  so  and  to  thank  you  most 
earnestly  for  what  you  have  done.  It  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  explain.  Lee  has  done  that  for  us. 
And  I  wish  also  to  say  that  the  error  in  the  books 
proves  to  be  no  responsibility  of  yours,  and  that  if 
you  will  do  us  the  favor  to  remain  with  us,  I  will 
see  that  you  are  treated  as  you  and  your  services 
deserve. 

"And  I  wish  to  beg  of  you,  sir,"  Mr.  Brainerd 


REPARATION.  389 

went  on,  turning  to  Warnock,  whom  he  had  left 
quite  at  the  rear,  "that  in  future  you  will  be 
kind  enough,  if  you  wish  to  serve  as  tale-bearer, 
to  bring  me  no  insinuations  that  you  cannot 
sustain  with  facts;  especially  where  facts  enough 
might  have  been  discovered,  had  you  chosen,  to 
call  for  highest  praise.  I  have  found  it  difficult 
to  reconcile  your  views  with  the  value  every  one 
else  in  the  store  sets  upon  Mr.  Havisham's  work. 
I  hope,"  turning  to  Wynt  again,  "you  will  over- 
look all  this  and  go  on  as  if  it  had  not  oc- 
curred." 

The  little  speech  to  Warnock  had  given  Wynt 
time  to  recover  himself  from  the  utter  astonish- 
ment the  first  moment  had  brought,  while  War- 
nock stood  livid  with  suppressed  sensations  and 
without  a  word. 

"  You  are  very  kind,  Mr.  Brainerd — too  kind, 
I  am  afraid.  I  do  not  quite  understand  all  you 
have  been  so  good  as  to  say,  except  that  you 
begin  to  feel  that  you  can  trust  me,  and  that  is 
all  I  ask.  As  to  remaining,  I  will  do  so  with 
pleasure  if — that  is  to  say,  I  can  give  my 
decision  better  in  a  few  days,  if  that  will  be 
quite  convenient  to  you." 

But  the  next  moment  an  absurd  feeling  came 
over  him.  If  he  said  that  and  nothing  more,  Mr. 
Brainerd  might  suspect  he  was  getting  on  his 
stilts  and  holding  off  for  injured  dignity.  "And 
my  dignity  feels  more  hurt  at  hearing  him  apolo- 

Judc*  lUrtilum'i  WOL  I 


290  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

gize  to  me  than  at  almost  anything  else,"  he 
exclaimed  to  himself. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  added  hastily,  "it  is 
better  to  be  frank.  I'm  not  quite  sure  what  is 
due  to  other  people  yet.  I've  been  leaving  that 
brother  of  mine  too  much,  for  one  thing,  I've 
been  afraid;  and  a  new  discovery  as  to  my  uncle's 
plans  for  us  makes  that  quite  unnecessary  now. 
And  I  believe  Mr.  Wilkie  has  some  wish  that  I 
should  study  the  next  year;  but  if  I  go  on  with 
work  anywhere,  I  will  do  so  here,  with  pleasure, 
since  you  are  kind  enough  to  think  I  can  be  of 
use." 

Warnock's  eyes  were  wide  open  upon  Wynt 
now  and  his  face  almost  beyond  his  power  of  con- 
trol. He  made  some  confused  murmur  about 
being  needed  outside;  Mr.  Brainerd  said,  "Cer- 
tainly;" and  he  disappeared. 

"  Then  I  have  more  to  congratulate  you  upon 
than  I  thought  for,  Havisham,"  said  Mr.  Brain- 
erd as  he  watched  Warnock  out  of  sight.  "I 
found  I  had  to  do  so  upon  being  a  man  and  keep- 
ing yourself  one  under  trying  times;  but  if  all 
those  matters  are  going  to  turn  out  happily  and 
give  you  a  few  years'  respite  to  catch  up  with 
yourself,  I  shall  do  so  doubly  and  with  all  my 
heart  Now  go  and  find  Lee  somewhere.  You 
can  have  all  the  talks  in  the  packing-room  you 
may  like." 


JOY  COMETH   IN   THE   MORNING.  29! 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

JOY  COMETH   IN   THE  MORNING. 

WYNT  did  not  feel  that  he  wanted  to  do  as 
Lee's  father  suggested.  "I  don't  know  what 
the  fellow  can  have  been  going  on  about  in 
there,"  he  said  to  himself  as  he  walked  towards 
his  own  work.  "If  he's  been  praising  me,  or 
talking  of  anything  he  thinks  I've  tried  to  do  for 
him,  as  he's  big-hearted  enough  to  do,  why,  I 
can't  go  and  follow  him  up  about  it,  of  course. 
That's  what  it  would  look  like.  But  I  should 
like  to  have  him  tell  me  that  he  knows  I  did  not 
give  him  away." 

He  did  not  have  long  to  wait  Lee  watched 
his  opportunity,  when  the  book-keeper  had 
stepped  out,  and  came  rushing  up  to  Wynt's 
stool,  almost  dragging  him  round  upon  it,  until 
he  could  look  into  his  face. 

"  Wynt,"  he  said,  as  he  stood  before  him  with 
his  head  erect,  "you '11  never  see  me  skulking  off 
where  you  can't  follow  me  again,  nor  pretend- 
ing to  myself  or  any  one  else  that  a  contemptible 
life  is  an  endurable  one.  I  knew  all  the  time 
that  I  was  acting  abominably,  but  I  would  not 
tell  myself  so.  But  you  've  got  the  whip  hand 


292  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

of  me  now  !  You  've  just  broken  me  up  at  last. 
I'm  ashamed  to  the  depths  of  my  soul,  but  I  'm 
proud  of  myself  for  being  ashamed.  It  puts  the 
breath  of  a  man  into  me  already.  And  as  for 
what  I  think  of  you,  you  wouldn't  let  me  say  a 
hundredth  part  of  it  if  I  could.  But  if  you  can 
forgive  me  and  endure  me  while  I'm  trying  to 
straggle  after  you,. fifty  miles  off,  it 's  all  I  ask." 

Wynt  looked  at  him,  confused  between  what 
he  understood  and  what  he  made  nothing  of. 
Was  Lee  declaring  himself  "  broken  up  "  at  last  ? 
Was  that  one  more  great  happiness  coming  into 
this  strange  day  ? 

But  the  rest  of  it  all — how  he  could  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  it — that  he  did  not  comprehend. 

UI  don't  know  what  you  are  talking  about, 
Lee,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned;  but  for  your  own 
part  of  it — I  thought  this  day  was  about  as  full  as 
it  could  be,  but  you  are  putting  the  best  and  the 
biggest  drop  into  the  cup.  And  you  mean  it; 
I'm  sure  of  that." 

"  Yes,  I  mean  it;  but  if  you  don't  know  what 
I  'm  trying  to  say  about  you,  I  '11  tell  you.  I  'm 
talking  about  what  you've  done,  and  been,  and 
tried  to  do  for  me  ever  since  I  began  to  make  a 
fool  of  myself,  and  what  I '  ve  seen  you  making  of 
yourself,  ever  since  you  got  thrown  on  your  own 
feet;  and  there  was  no  'soft  thing  '  about  that,  as 
everybody  knows.  And  I'm  talking  about  your 
taking  your  chance,  and  a  heavy  one,  of  a  bounce 


JOY  COMETH   IN   THE   MORNING.  293 

from   Brainerd   and  Gray,  rather  than  give  me 
away." 

"How  did  you  know  anything  about  that?" 

"Never  mind;  I  knew  it,  and  I  don't  forget 
it  while  I  live.  And  now,  if  you  can  stand  it, 
I  'm  going  to  hang  to  you  till  I  see  if  I  can  learn 
the  #,  £,  c  of  what  I  admire  with  all  my  soul  in 
you." 

"  Don't,  Lee.  I  can't  take  that  kind  of  talk 
from  you.  Do  you  think  I  can't  see  what 's  noble 
and  good  on  your  side,  if  you  '11  only  let  it  come 
to  the  top?  As  to  Brainerd  and  Gray — it  would 
have  made  no  difference  with  me,  anyway,  as  it 
proved;  so  that  doesn't  count  And  as  to  'learn- 
ing' from  me,  there's  nothing  to  learn,  that  I 
know  of,  unless  it 's  the  very  shadow  of  what  I 
ought  to  have  learned  myself  a  hundred  times 
better  than  I  have  from  your  Lord  and  mine. 
Why  don't  you  'hang'  to  him?  There's  no 
other  help  like  it;  and  if  you  want  anything 
really  worth  worshipping,  there's  where  you  have 
to  look." 

Lee  shook  his  head.  "  He  could  n't  stand  it ! 
I  haven't  got  the  stuff  in  me  that  He  wants  to  see 
coming  to  Him.  It 's  all  I  can  do  to  brace  up  and 
believe  you're  going  to  take  any  stock  in  me 
after  this.  I  do  believe  it,  but  I  '11  have  to  stop 
there.  And  I  don't  go  into  things  of  that  kind, 
anyway,  you  know." 

"  Well  now,  Lee,  what 's  the  use  of  a  lot  of 


294  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

talk  that  don't  hang  together  better  than  that? 
You  believe  I'm  ready  to  'take  stock  in  you,' 
because  your  faults  never  spoiled  my  friendship, 
because  I've  'preached  to  you,'  as  you've  been 
pleased  to  call  it,  half  a  dozen  times,  and  because 
I  tried  to  drag  you  off  a  flight  of  stairs.  And 
when  our  Prince  became  our  Elder  Brother,  and 
went  through  a  long  thirty  years  of  it  here,  strug- 
gling against  everything,  to  show  us  what  a  life 
might  be,  and  finally  laid  down  his  own  to  re- 
deem us  and  to  give  us  a  fresh  start,  you  talk 
about  not  having  the  right  kind  of  stuff  in  you  to 
bring  to  him!  I  wouldn't  like  you  to  treat  me 
like  that;  and  he  doesn't.  If  you  want  to  get  rid 
of  the  evil  that's  in  you,  as  something  you  hate 
and  despise,  and  if  you  begin  to  see  the  good  and 
glorious  he  has  shown  us,  and  want  to  get  hold  of 
it,  that's  the  very  kind  of  'stuff'  he's  been  wait- 
ing and  watching  for  you  to  bring  to  him  all  this 
time,  and  you  know  it  as  well  as  I.  Why  don't 
you  go  and  talk  to  him  about  it  ?  You  '11  find  out 
for  yourself  then." 

Lee  hesitated.  "  Oh,  come,  Wynt !  You  're 
getting  way  ahead.  I  don't  think  I  care  about 
all  that." 

"Yes,  you  do  care  about  it,  too;  or  if  you 
don't,  the  more  reason  still  to  tell  him  so.  You 
wont  be  a  true  man  and  a  thorough  one  while 
you  're  thankless  to  the  Prince  that  became  one  to 
show  you  how;  and  if  you  want  to  be  one,  you  'd 


JOY  COMETH    IX   THE    MORNING.  295 

better  '  hold  on '  to  him,  to  make  sure  of  it,  and 
to  have  him  show  you  a  hundred  times  higher 
places  in  it  than  you  or  I  have  found  out  yet 
And  as  to  'standing  it,'  he's  had  forgiveness 
piled  up  in  his  heart  waiting  for  you  longer  than 
you  seem  to  think  of,  many  a  time.  I  don't  see 
how  the  same  fellow  that  comes  here  and  gives 
me  a  hundred  times  more  than  any  little  service 
I  've  been  able  to  do  him  deserves,  can  finish  by 
saying  he  does  n't  care  about  Hint!  I  wish  you  'd 
go  and  talk  to  Him  about  it,  I  say,  and  see  where 
you  'd  find  yourself  then.  There 's  enough  there 
to  'break  you  all  up,'  if  there  isn't  anywhere 
else,  and  he  '11  open  your  eyes  if  you  want  him 
to.  And  now  don't  say  I've  been  preaching.  I 
want  you  along  with  me  where  I  am;  and  he 
wants  you  along  with  him  too." 

The  morning  passed  at  last;  it  seemed  to 
Wynt  it  had  packed  a  whole  year  into  its  hours; 
but  the  thing  now  was  to  go  and  tell  Cyp.  He 
must  come  next;  and  it  would  pay  up  for  a  thou- 
sand hard  pulls  to  see  him  when  he  heard  he  was 
to  go  back  into  the  old  house ! 

But  he  did  not  come  next,  after  all.  Wynt 
met  Bent  as  he  turned  into  the  yard,  and  in  two 
minutes  more  Mab's  heart  stood  actually  still  as 
she  saw  her  father  come  hurrying  in  with  a  quick, 
unsteady  step,  and  throwing  his  arms  and  head 
down  upon  the  table,  sit  by  it  sobbing  and  crying 
like  a  little  child. 


296  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

"  Don't  mind  me,  Mab  !"  he  managed  to  say, 
with  a  little  gesture  to  put  her  away  as  she  tried 
to  come  to  him;  "  let  me  have  it  out.  It's  all 
joy,  and  don't  shorten  it.  I  shall  never  cry  for 
joy  again  while  I  live." 

Mab  stood,  tremulous  with  excitement,  beside 
him  without  a  word;  but  she  could  not  bear  it 
long.  "But  I  never  saw  you  this  way,  father, 
before,"  she  ventured  to  say  at  last. 

Bent  looked  up  suddenly.  "No,  nor  ever  will 
again,  Mab,  not  even  when  I  see  you  well  and 
married  to  Jem.  See  !"  and  he  caught  her  in  his 
arms  and  carried  her  back  to  her  chair  with  a 
sweep;  "am  I  an  'old  man'  now?  I  could  carry 
you  round  this  room  a  thousand  times,  for  a  feath- 
er's weight !  I '  ve  gone  back  twenty  years.  It 's 
the  first  will  that 's  to  stand,  Mab  !  It 's  a  second 
one,  promised  to  Miss  Vivian,  that 's  to  be  tipped 
over  with  a  breath.  You  '11  see  our  young  gentle- 
men back  in  the  house  they  were  born  to,  with 
inheritance  proper  to  keep  it,  before  one  week 
has  gone  over  our  heads !  You  '11  see  Havishams 
in  the  Havisham  House,  Mab;  and  no  one  can 
say  that  the  last  who  went  out  of  it  did  those  left 
behind  a  wrong.  Miss  Vivian  may  bring  her  new 
butler  when  she  likes.  With  you  and  Jem  made 
up,  and  all  this  set  right,  I  can  die  in  peace." 
And  Bent  began  to  walk  the  floor  excitedly. 

Mab  had  listened  from  beginning  to  end  of 
his  rapid  outpouring  without  a  word,  the  pink 


JOY  COMETH   IN  THE   MORNING.  297 

color  coming  up  more  and  more  strongly  into  her 
cheeks  and  her  eyes  shining  unutterable  things. 

She  put  out  her  hands  at  last  and  got  hold  of 
Bent's  coat-sleeve,  and  he  came  within  reach. 
"Aren't  you  glad  you  'held  on  the  tighter  the 
harder  things  pulled'?"  she  asked  with  an  arch- 
ness that  Bent  used  to  delight  in,  but  that  sor- 
rowful days  had  almost  put  out  of  sight 

"Glad!  There's  only  shame  to  me  if  there 
was  ever  a  moment  when  I  let  go.  And  now,  do 
you  understand  me,  Mab?  you'll  not  see  one  of 
those  boys  carrying  burdens  heavy  for  a  strong 
man's  back,  and  the  other  breaking  down  with 
what 's  too  much  for  the  heart  of  any  child,  not  to 
mention  a  sensitive  soul  like  Mr.  Cyp's.  I  don't 
know  how  we're  ever  to  thank  the  Lord  for  this 
day,  with  all  it  has  brought  us  between  daylight 
and  now;  and  we  have  him  to  thank;  that  is  one 
thing  settled  and  sure." 

There  was  a  sound  at  the  door,  and  Barbie's 
tall  figure  stood  before  them,  erect,  almost  majes- 
tic, her  eyes  beaming  like  stars  and  the  white 
head-handkerchief  once  more  in  stately  folds  about 
her  head,  while  her  brown  hands  hung  before  her 
clasped  and  motionless. 

"Yes,  for  He  seeth  the  end  from  the  begin- 
ning," she  began,  as  if  echoing  Bent's  last  words, 
in  the  slow,  half-chanting  tones  she  had  learned 
in  her  childhood's  land.  "  Darkness  may  endure 
for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning,  and 


JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

clouds  and  shadows  shall  flee  away.  For  He 
will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempted  beyond  what 
we  are  able  to  endure ;  and  afterward  it  yield- 
eth  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  Bless 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  his  ben- 
efits 1" 


ALL  RIGHT  AT  LAST.  299 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

ALL  RIGHT  AT  LAST. 

CYP  had  not  taken  the  news  at  all  as  Wynt 
imagined  he  would.  After  his  first  start  of  sur- 
prise he  stood  still  for  one  instant,  as  if  to  get 
hold  of  himself,  and  then  covered  everything 
with  the  same  little  swell  that  had  amused  Mr. 
Wilkie  so  much. 

"  Yes;  I  told  you  uncle  never  meant  to  throw 
us  over.  I  said  no  one  could  ever  make  me  be- 
lieve he  did.  If  he  had,  I  could  have  stood  it  as 
well  as  you.  I  do  n't  need  to  have  a  soft  thing  of 
it,  of  course.  But  I  could  n't  stand  it  to  have 
them  say  it  was  uncle's  fault,  all  the  same!" 

And  "all  the  same,"  too,  when  Wynt  went 
up  stairs  that  night,  he  found  Cyp  asleep  with 
red  rings  showing  just  a  trifle  under  his  eyes.  He 
and  Bent  had  both  had  their  little  season  of  tem- 
pestuous crying  for  joy. 

The  next  thing  was  to  write  to  Vivian. 

"I  want  to  march  you  into  that  house  without 
a  day  lost,"  Mr.  Wilkie  said  to  Wynt,  "on  that 
youngster's  account  McPherson  has  been  work- 
ing himself  up  a  good  deal  about  him  of  late. 
But  I  don't  wish  to  do  it  till  I've  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  announcing  you  to  Mrs.  Adriance,  and  Cyp 


300  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S 

can  make  something  out  of  anticipation,  mean- 
time. And  I  call  writing  to  Mrs.  Vivian  a  'pleas- 
ure' deliberately,  I  want  you  to  understand.  I'll 
not  pretend  to  myself,  even,  that  it  is  not.  To 
show  her  exactly  how  near  she  came  to  getting 
what  she  wanted,  and  missed  it !  that  is  all.  I  '11 
write  her  a  copy  of  that  '  last  will,'  if  she  wishes; 
or  what  would  you  say  to  letting  her  have  the 
original,  Wynt?" 

But  Wynt  shook  his  head  at  Mr.  Wilkie. 
Vivian  had  always  been  very  kind  in  her  manner 
to  him,  he  said;  at  which  Mr.  Wilkie' s  moustache 
showed  some  peculiar  little  contortion  going  on 
under  it,  and  he  sat  down  to  his  letter  forthwith. 

Vivian's  reply  came  immediately,  the  first 
return  mail  bringing  it,  sealed,  square-lettered, 
and  elegant,  and  written  in  all  graceful  apparent 
ease. 

She  was  very  glad,  she  said,  that  anything 
had  occurred  to  induce  Wynt  to  lay  aside  his  prej- 
udice against  remaining  in  the  Havisham  House. 
She  hoped  he  and  Cyp  would  return  at  once  and 
feel  quite  at  home  there,  especially  as  she  intended 
to  sail,  within  a  few  days,  for  a  two  or  three 
years'  stay  abroad.  The  old  servants  being  so 
faithful  and  at  home  in  their  duties,  she  did  not 
doubt  her  young  cousins  would  find  themselves 
so  well  taken  care  of  as  scarcely  to  miss  her  until 
her  return;  and  with  an  airy  little  message  of 
farewell  to  them  the  letted  closed. 


ALL  RIGHT  AT  LAST.  301 

Mr.  Wilkie  threw  the  letter  down  upon  his 
desk  and  leaned  back  in  his  chair  with  a  little 
shout,  half  merriment,  half  satisfaction. 

"Well,  if  there  isn't  a  consummate  little 
piece  of  letter- writing  for  you!"  he  exclaimed. 
"Vivian  has  outdone  herself  this  time,  certainly. 
And  she  could  not  have  pleased  me  better  if  that 
had  been  her  first  object  in  life.  If  I  had  put 
those  boys  in  there  with  her,  they  would  have 
found  her  exactly  the  charming  company  she  was 
before.  And  they  could  not  have  asked  any  one 
else  to  come  and  do  the  thing  differently.  Going 
abroad  for  two  or  three  years,  is  she  ?  Then  I  '11 
just  send  and  see  if  Mrs.  Lewyn  can  be  persuaded 
to  come  and  warm  the  old  house  up  for  the  young- 
sters for  that  time.  Just  about  the  measure  her 
husband  has  given  to  Manilla,  if  I  don't  mis- 
take." 

He  wrote  the  letter,  as  his  custom  was,  close 
on  the  heels  of  his  decision.  Matters  were  not 
apt  to  cool,  very  often,  on  Mr.  Wilkie's  desk. 
But  now  that  the  first  excitement  of  his  pleasure 
in  the  conclusion  of  Wynt's  affairs  was  past  the 
recollection  of  his  own  began  to  rise  again  in  a 
troublesome  way.  Even  between  the  lines  he 
was  writing  Mrs.  Lewyn,  mixed  with  his  satis- 
faction at  Vivian's  doing  just  the  right  thing,  ran 
suggestions  of  dark  times  coming  and  trouble 
that  he  was  nearing  every  day. 

But  there  was  one  trouble  that  could  never 


302  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

face  him  again ;  it  was  left  dead  and  for  ever 
behind — the  temptation  to  put  upon  Hugh  Wil- 
kie's  name  a  possible  stain  or  upon  Hugh  Wilkie 
himself  the  possibility  of  self-reproach  and  shame. 

The  last  /  in  his  signature  to  Mrs.  Lewyn  had 
just  got  its  dot  when  the  door  opened  and  Dr. 
McPherson  stepped  inside. 

"Ah,  how  are  you,  Wilkie?  I've  been  out 
of  town  and  just  come  in,  so  that  I  hadn't  heard 
the  lively  news  about  those  wards  of  yours  till 
half  an  hour  ago.  I  could  n't  keep  off  with  my 
congratulations  and  took  a  moment  to  run  in.  So 
that  young  stickler  is  satisfied  about  the  'last 
will,'  is  he,  after  this?  And  Mrs.  Vivian  has 
found  out  how  it  happened  that  they  're  not  her 
wards  instead  of  yours?  It's  the  best  thing  I've 
heard  !  Clears  Judge  Havisham  up  a  little,  too, 
in  my  mind,  to  tell  the  truth.  A  momentary 
yielding  to  a  daughter  like  that,  but  left  incom- 
plete, and  wiped  out  with  his  last  words,  we  can 
excuse  without  lowering  him  from  that  high 
round  in  the  ladder  where  we  like  to  keep  him, 
you  know. 

"By  the  way,  I  haven't  heard  you  mention 
that  lead-mine  of  yours  of  late.  I  was  thinking 
of  it  the  other  day.  I  expected  to  hear  great 
things  from  it  before  now.  If  it  turns  out  a  big 
fortune,  you'll  let  me  know,  I  hope.  I  shall  want 
to  be  in  with  my  congratulations." 

Mr.  Wilkie  changed  color  almost  impercepti- 


ALL   RIGHT  AT  LAST.  303 

bly.  "It  will  not  turn  out  a  fortune,  large  or 
small,  McPherson,  thank  you  all  the  same.  I'll 
accept  your  interest  in  it  as  the  best  dividend  it 
makes." 

"Why,  what  's  the  matter?" 

"Nothing,  only  that  it  wants  a  few  thou- 
sand that  I  can't  put  in  to  bring  the  fortune  out 
It 's  there,  I  have  no  earthly  doubt,  but  there  it 
will  have  to  stay." 

"Whew  !  Do  you  mean  it  really  ?  That 's  a 
nuisance,  certainly;  but  after  all,  a  few  thousands 
do  n't  amount  to  much." 

"They  did  not  once  to  me;  but  you  don't 
know,  perhaps,  that  luck  has  gone  against  me  a 
good  many  times  of  late." 

"  I  did  hear  something  of  the  kind,  I  'm  sorry 
to  say.  In  fact  I  was  thinking  of  it  as  I  came  in 
and  wondering  if  it  could  bother  you  at  all  in 
connection  with  the  mine.  So  I  thought  I  'd  find 
out,  and  if  it  were  so  it  might  give  me  just  the 
opportunity  I  want  to  get  a  worry  off  my  mind. 
I  wonder  if  you  knew  that  your  father  lent  me  a 
few  hundreds  when  you  and  I  were  digging  into 
our  professions  at  the  same  time?  He  did,  and 
they  were  more  to  me  than  twice  as  many  thou- 
sands could  be  now.  I  paid  them  back,  but  I  've 
carried  principal  and  interest  on  my  heart  ever 
since,  and  I  'd  like  to  get  rid  of  them  if  I  can. 
I  've  had  two  or  three  legacies  tumble  over  on  to 
me  since  then  and  several  strokes  of  luck  besides, 


304  JUDGE   HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

to  say  nothing  of  steady  work;  so  a  sum  that 
came  in  the  other  day  I  've  no  earthly  use  for.  If 
you'll  take  it  and  pitch  it  into  that  mine  of 
yours,  I  '11  be  obliged  to  you,  that 's  all." 

Mr.  Wilkie  felt  his  breath  come  and  go  for  a 
minute  with  a  quickened  pulse.  UI  can't  do  it, 
McPherson,"  he  said.  "There's  a  risk,  you 
know.  It  might  not  come  back. " 

"I  don't  believe  there's  a  bit  of  it.  And 
besides,  your  father  risked  on  a  mighty  unprom- 
ising claim  when  he  took  his  chances  on  me. 
Nobody  thought  then  I'd  'pan  out'  very  much, 
if  you  recollect  So  I  '11  just  send  in  that  little 
amount,  if  you  will  allow  me,  and  it  will  be  off 
my  mind,  whether  it  ever  comes  back  or  not.  By 
the  way,  I  'm  as  glad  for  that  youngest  Havisham 
shaver  as  for  any  of  the  rest  of  that  thing.  It  is 
time  he  was  set  back  in  his  native  soil,  if  you 
want  to  see  him  growing  anywhere  very  long. 
As  for  the  real  invalid  of  the  place  though,  that 
daughter  of  Bent's,  I  believe  Pve  hit  the  right 
thing  with  her.  I  compliment  myself  on  that 
She 's  coming  right  up." 


A  WHITE  DAY,  AND  MORE  TO  FOLLOW.      305 

•    » 

\ 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

A  WHITE  DAY,    AND  MORE  TO  FOLLOW. 

IT  was  a  "white  day"  on  the  Havisham  Place 
when  its  rightful  owners,  as  all  the  old  retainers 
considered  Wynt  and  Cyp  quite  equally  with 
Vivian,  returned  to  their  inheritance. 

Mrs.  Lewyn  had  come  the  day  before  and  got 
the  sunshine  and  the  first  crocuses  into  the  house 
and  her  own  cheery  little  belongings  scattered 
about  Covers  were  taken  off  furniture;  Jnic-a- 
brac,  silver,  and  linen  were  brought  out  again; 
the  horses  came  in  from  their  winter  quarters, 
Blackwing  among  them — Tom  Adriance,  hoping 
for  better  days,  having  contrived,  by  ways  best 
known  to  himself,  to  keep  him  back  from  sale. 

Waite  had  to  come  back  when  the  horses  did, 
and  he  was  "off  his  base,"  Bent  declared,  with 
triumph  and  satisfaction  at  what  was  going  on. 
It  was  "the  lightest  lifting  he  ever  did,"  he  an- 
swered as  he  brought  back  the  furnishings  that 
he  had  carried  in  rebellious  spirit  to  the  gate 
cottage  not  so  many  months  before. 

Burnham  had  been  bustling  about,  looking 
actually  almost  handsome  in  the  zeal  and  enthu- 
siasm with  which  she  assured  herself  that  all  was 

Judite  HavUban'l  Will.  2O 


306  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

as  it  should  be  in  the  house.  And  Barbie  fol- 
lowed here  and  there,  feasting  her  dark  eyes.  The 
boys  of  the  young  mistress  she  had  loved  so  long 
and  yet  so  little  while  ago  would  be  at  home  in 
their  mother's  home  now,  at  least  till  the  youngest 
should  be  a  man.  They  should  tread  the  same 
floors  her  dainty  foot  had  trod,  and  step  only 
where  they  had  a  right.  They  should  sleep 
where  she  had  slept,  and  the  morning  sun  should 
wake  them  streaming  through  the  same  windows 
where  she  had  loved  to  have  it  enter;  and  they 
should  be  taking  only  what  was  their  own. 

But  there  was  still  another  joy  that  was  stir- 
ring her  old  heart  till  her  lips  could  not  keep 
still.  Not  a  sound  did  she  let  any  one  hear,  but 
she  whispered  the  words  noiselessly  a  hundred 
times  to  herself : 

uNo,  there's  no  stain  left  on  that  name  any 
more  !  It's  just  taken  clean  off  for  ever  more. 
Thorpe  Havisham  was  never  a  name  that  could 
carry  a  stain.  One  could  n't  hold  on  there.  Who 
ever  said  it  could?  Just  clean  off,  for  ever 
more !" 

And  Bent ! 

Bent  would  not  have  cared  if  a  hundred  people 
"had  called  him  old  or  out  of  style  just  now.  He 
was  too  redundant  in  happiness  to  trouble  him- 
self about  a  thing  like  that;  and  moreover  in  his 
own  bones  he  felt  that  the  youth  of  thirty  years 
ago  had  come  back. 


A  WHITE   DAY,  AND  MORE  TO  FOLLOW.    307 

The  young  gentlemen  were  to  have  "the  old 
servants"  to  look  after  them,  were  they?  Miss 
Vivian  was  to  feel  safe  about  them  on  that  ac- 
count? 

Very  well!  She  should  see  when  she  came 
back,  and  the  whole  world  might  look  in,  in  the 
meantime,  if  they  liked. 

And  he  almost  reproached  himself  that  Mab's 
face  would  keep  coming  before  his  eyes,  too,  as 
he  bustled  about  over  his  silver  and  linen  or  get- 
ting the  fine  china  down  again  into  use. 

"It's  not  the  thing,  as  I  know,  to  be  letting 
my  own  affairs  come  up  at  a  time  like  this,  Mr. 
Wynt,"  he  said.  "  But  if  you  could  notice  the 
color  getting  back  into  Mab's  cheeks  over  there! 
And  it's  not  all  that's  come  back,  the  color  isn't, 
as  you  might  say.  There's  no  girl  had  ever  a 
tenderer  lover,  nor  a  stronger,  than  Jem 's  come 
round  again — nor  a  humbler  one,  at  the  same 
time,  as  well.  He  can't  seem  to  find  fault 
enough  with  himself  for  the  strange  freak  that 
took  hold  of  him  for  a  while.  And  if  Mab  keeps 
on  doing  as  the  doctor  looks  for  her  to  do,  I  don't 
see  why  she  mightn't — " 

"Take  Jem  into  the  cottage  some  day?'* 
asked  Wynt,  finishing  the  sentence  where  Bent 
seemed  to  stick.  "I'm  sure  I  do  n't  see  either. 
You  've  got  a  ( two  or  three  years' '  lease  of  it,  at 
the  least,  and  we'll  renew  that  when  it  is  out,  if 
I  don't  very  much  mistake." 


308  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

Wynt  had  been  going  quietly  on  at  the  store 
up  to  this  time,  only  asking  that  he  might  get 
back  to  Cyp  an  hour  or  so  earlier  at  night.  He 
did  not  know  why  he  should  not  keep  at  work, 
certainly,  and  there  was  no  applicant  for  the 
place  at  this  moment  who  was  acceptable  to 
Brainerd  and  Gray.  It  would  require  a  pretty 
strong  reason,  of  course,  to  take  him  away  from 
his  post  at  inconvenience  to  them. 

And  what  to  do  next  was  a  question  that 
wanted  a  little  deliberation,  too.  Mr.  Wilkie 
left  it  a  good  deal  to  his  decision,  though  his  own 
wishes  were  made  plain  enough  as  to  study  in 
the  office,  either  now  or  at  a  later  day.  The 
later  day,  naturally,  would  be  after  college,  for 
which  Wynt  was  already  well  fitted.  But  Cyp 
could  not  go  to  college,  and  how  was  he  to  be 
left  behind  ? 

Wynt  might  take  a  year  or  two  of  tutoring  at 
home,  and  then  begin  at  law;  Mr.  Wilkie  would 
never  rest  till  he  saw  him  make  his  start  at  that. 
Or  he  might  read  in  the  office  a  year  at  once,  so 
gaining  time  while  they  waited  for  Cyp  to  grow 
stouter,  or  for  things  to  come  round  in  any  way 
so  that  Wynt  need  not  feel  his  only  place  to  be 
beside  him. 

uBut  take  your  time  to  think  it  over,"  Mr. 
Wilkie  had  said.  "  Haste  makes  waste,  gener- 
ally, where  it  is  not  absolutely  called  for;  and 
there 's  no  hurry  here.  Only  I  want  to  show  the 


A  WHITE   DAY,   AND  MORE  TO  FOLLOW.    309 

bar,  as  soon  as  possible,  that  I've  brought  them 
the  most  promising  young  lawyer  they  've  had 
offered  them  in  many  a  long  day." 

Wynt  smiled  quietly  in  return,  hardly  lifting 
his  eyes  from  a  book  Mr.  Wilkie  had  taken  down 
"just  to  give  him  a  taste."  "  You  may  find  I 'm 
as  stupid  as  that  horse  of  Jem  Dent's,  that  eats 
straw  out  of  the  freight  boxes  and  munches  it 
comfortably  for  oats,"  he  said. 

"Well,  some  young  fellows  might  have  no- 
ticed that  a  will  was  not  witnessed,"  was  the 
reply.  "Still,  allowance  may  be  made  for  en- 
thusiasm or  any  little  weakness  of  that  kind,  in 
a  given  case." 

Brainerd  and  Gray's,  meantime,  had  carried 
its  share  in  the  effect  the  finding  of  the  "last 
will "  had  directly  or  indirectly  produced. 

Warnock  opened  his  lips  to  no  one  about  it; 
his  sentiments  and  sensations  were  such  as  he 
preferred  keeping  to  himself.  The  partners  con- 
gratulated Wynt  and  regretted  his  probable  loss 
equally,  divided  between  this  and  the  unques- 
tionable and  most  positive  change  that  had  ap- 
peared in  Lee;  and  Mr.  Brainerd  could  not  com- 
fortably forgive  himself  for  the  injustice  he  had 
so  carelessly  shown  Wynt 

"Apology  can't  quite  cover  it,"  he  could  not 
help  feeling  and  saying  to  himself.  "And  it's 
as  hard  to  forgive  Warnock  for  blinding  me  as 
myself  for  letting  him  do  it,  too.  I  can't  con- 


310  JUDGE  HAVISHAM'S  WILL. 

ceive  what  his  motive  could  have  been.  Havi- 
sham  never  can  have  wronged  him,  and  he  must 
have  known,  in  his  conscience,  that  he  had 
wronged  no  one  else.  Somehow  I  have  not  had 
my  old  confidence  in  that  fellow  of  late;  this 
knocks  out  the  bottom  from  under  him  a  good 
deal.  I  shall  find  a  way  to  get  rid  of  his  services 
before  many  months  go  by." 

uWe  shall  lose  Havisham  of  course  now,  I 
suppose,"  Mr.  Gray  said,  when  the  subject  came 
up.  "He  has  not  quite  said  he  would  go,  if  I 
understand." 

"No;  but  it  is  the  same  thing.     Whether  he 
goes  or  stays,  though,  I  believe  I  have  him  ta 
thank  for  taking  off  the  greatest  trouble  I  had. 
He 's  got  hold  of  Lee  somehow  at  last,  for  good, 
if  appearances  promise  the  truth." 

"  Is  that  Havisham  ?  Can  he  work  miracles  ? 
I  've  been  thinking  one  must  have  taken  hold  of 
Lee,  the  last  two  weeks.  We  shall  lose  him  too, 
if  this  keeps  up,  shall  we  not?  You'll  have  no 
excuse  for  tying  him  back  from  that  college  life 
he's  pining  for,  eh?" 

"I  hope  I  may  not,  most  sincerely,"  was  the 
quiet  reply. 

As  for  Lee  himself,  every  day  Wynt  remained 
in  the  store  was* one  more  treasured  "  white  one  " 
for  him.  "What  it  will  ever  be  when  you  are 
gone  out  of  it,"  he  said,  "it  isn't  worth  while 
to  think.  But  I  '11  tell  you  one  thing;  if  I  have 


A  WHITE  DAY,   AND   MORE  TO   FOLLOW.    311 

to  grit  my  teeth  to  do  it,  I'm  never  going  to  let 
the  whole  thing,  and  Warnock  in  the  midst  of  it, 
make  my  life  miserable  for  me.  I  'm  just  going 
ahead,  straight,  for  whatever  work  my  day  finds 
put  into  it,  with  no  questions  asked,  and  the 
comfort  of  knowing  I  've  done  it  well  and  re- 
spected myself  when  I  get  through.  I  made  up 
my  mind  that  if  there  was  enough  to  satisfy  you 
in  that,  there  was  enough  for  me,  and  I  'd  try  to 
strike  in.  It  works  well,  too,  so  far.  I  bob 
round  like  a  cork  where  I  used  to  go  under  and 
suffocate,  every  time." 

Wynt  raised  his  eyes  and  looked  searchingly 
into  his  friend's  face.  "I  don't  believe  that's 
the  whole  of  it  either,  Lee." 

"Well,  it's  not  then,  if  you  will  have  it  all 
out  I  could  n't  stand  what  you  said  about  some 
One  who  had  shown  a  bigger  heart  and  stood 
under  more  for  me  than  you.  But  I  didn't  take 
any  stock  in  those  things;  I  told  you  the  truth; 
so  I  concluded  to  'go  and  talk  to  Him  about  it,' 
as  you  said,  and  I  did  *  find  out'  Found  out  the 
beginning  of  a  few  things  at  least,  I  mean; 
enough  to  make  me  feel  I  never  want  to  let  go." 

"No!"  said  Wynt,  his  dark  face  lighted  sud- 
denly with  one  of  his  flashing  smiles.  "Hold 
on,  and  hold  on  tighter,  for  ever,  the  harder 
things  pull!" 


STUDIES    IN    HEARTS 

By  JULIA  MAC  NAIR  WRIGHT 
/2mo.     192  pages.     10  illustrations        .         .         .         j^c. 

Here  is  a  series  of  charming  sketches,  portraying  varied 
types  of  life,  and  revealing  on  the  part  of  the  distinguished 
author  a  deep  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  and  its  workings. 
These  sketches  will  be  read  with  great  interest,  for  they  are 
true  to  life,  and  present  those  phases  of  human  experience  which 
arc  cure  to  strike  a  sympathetic  chord  in  every  nature. 

ALWYN    RAVENDALE 

By  EVELYN  EVERETT  GREEN 
tamo.    )75  pagts.     Illustrated    ....        Sf.a; 

This  is  a  fascinating  story,  showing  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  an  attractive  boy  into  a  noble  Christian  young  man. 
The  plot  of  the  story  is  well  constructed,  and  the  interest  in 
its  denouement  is  sustained  in  an  admirable  manner. 


Railroading  With  Christ 

By  CHARLES  A.  S.  DWIGHT 

/amo.     80  pages,     aa  illustrations.     Cloth    .        .        )$c. 

A  graphic  description  of  how  a  poor  boy  was  forced  by 
the  death  of  his  father,  through  a  railroad  accident,  to  go  to 
work.  After  reaching  manhood  he  begins  a  railroad  life  as  a 
freight  brakeman,  and  although  circumstances  seem  to  be 
against  him  from  the  start,  he  perseveres,  until  at  last,  after 
years  of  faithful  and  efficient  toil,  he  becomes  general  superin- 
tendent of  the  road. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY,  NEW  YORK 


JKecoHections  of  a  Long  Life 

An  Autobiography  by  REV.  THEODORE  L.  CUYLER,  D.D 
ismo.     Cloth.     Five  illustrations.     556  pages,  $1.50  net. 

Dr.  Cuyler  has  had  a  most  active  and  interesting  life, 
v.hich,  combined  with  his  remarkable  memory  and  the  charm 
of  his  literary  style,  makes  his  autobiography  a  most  fascinating 
book. 


"  In  this  wonderful  little  vol- 
ume, fresh  from  a  more  wonderful 
memory,  the  old  heroes,  orators, 
statesmen,  poets,  sa>;es,  scholars, 
authors,  divines,  and  all  the  famous 
and  n.  He  n-.en  and  women  <-f  the 
past  generation  seem  to  be  moving 
past  us  in  a  biographical  picture  from 
these  living  pages,  and  each  one  tells 
his  c\vn  story  in  such  characteristic 
and  graphic  style  that  he  needs  no 
formal  introduction.  Get  it  and 
reaJ  it.  It  is  real  life,  and  the  life  of 
a  great  and  pood  man,  ?t  that.  It 
will  do  y^u  good,  and  prove  far 
more  helpfi'l  than  ten  times  the 
amount  wasted  on  novels." 
— Christian  Work  and  Evangelist, 
New  York. 


"  The  reader  rises  from  the  perusal 
of  this  book  with  an  affectionate 
understanding  of  the  lovable  char- 
acter, the  s-rious  c ---sccration  to 
service,  of  the  last  survivor  of  the 
great  American  cler;~>.  men  of  the 
last  generation.'' — Mail  and  Express, 
New  York. 

"The  volume  of  'Recollections' 
i.=  ;i  •.!?light.":l  little  book.  We  mit/ht 
fill  columns  with  excerpts,  but  that 
would  be  injustice  to  a  volume  that 
should  be  read  —  not  reproduced." 
— Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"One  of  the  most  interesting  books 
that  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  read 
in  many  a  day.  — JBANNETTE  L. 
GILDER  in  the  Chicago  Tribune. 


Why   We   Believe  the   Bible 

By  HENRY  M.  KING,  D.D.     ismo.     222  pages.          $i.co 


The  Examiner  says  : 

"  Dr.  King's  book  will  help  the 
faith  and  promote  the  intelligence  of 
a  multitude  of  earnest  readers." 

Christian  Intelligencer  says : 

"  A  compact  and  delightfully  read- 
able treatment  of  the  Christian  evi- 
dences, by  a  scholar,  for  general 
reading." 


The  Providence  Journal  says  : 

"  Dr.  King's  presentation  of  the 
case  is  very  clear  and  cogent,  and 
the  bock  deserves  a  wide  reading  " 

The  Religious  Telescope  says  : 

"  Will  be  found  very  helpful  to  the 
faith  of  its  readers  in  the  divine  origin 
and  trustworthiness  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures." 


AMERICAN   TRACT   SOCIETY,  NEW  YORK 


Little    Maid    Marigold 

By   ELEANOR   H.   STOOKE 
i2tno.     22}  pages.     Illustrated      ....        7fc. 

The  pages  of  this  charming  story  will  be  read  by  many 
with  keen  interest.  It  is  not  the  story  of  some  wondeii'u 
prodigy,  but  of  a  sweet  young  girl,  who  won  the  hearts  of  a!l 
with  whom  she  became  associated.  The  "  Little  Maid"  wi'l 
have  many  friends  as  soon  as  she  has  become  known  through 
the  pages  of  this  book.  It  is  a  story  not  merely  for  young 
girls,  though  it  is  of  a  girl,  but  for  young  people  generally. 


ELMCOVE 

By  Mrs.  HARRIET  A.  CHEEVER 
i2tno.    334  pages.     Illustrated  .        .        .        .         $1.2$ 

This  is  a  story  of  the  power  exerted  by  a  lovely  girU 
who  by  an  accident  became  a  confirmed  invalid  and  cripple. 
This  shut-in  one  was  able  to  affect  the  life  of  a  town  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  not  only  wrought  a  great  transformation 
in  a  church,  but  also  directly  nffecfed  a  serious  and  stubborn 
labor  strike.  The  story  is  told  in  a  most  interesting  and 
straightforward  manner.  The  various  characters,  of  which 
there  are  a  number,  sustain  their  parts  well,  and  help  to  make 
the  narrative  most  interesting.  Sybil  Earle,  the  central  figure 
of  the  story,  bluff  old  Captain  Ranson,  faithful  Oliver  Bruce, 
and  others,  will  find  many  admirers  among  those  who  shall 
read  the  story.  It  will  not  fail  to  do  good  wherever  it  is  read. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY,  NEW  YORK 


What  Distinguished  Preachers  say  about 

"Soul  Winning  Stories" 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Cortland  Meyers,  Pastor  of  Baptist  Temple, 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  says  : 

"  '  Soul  winning  Stories '  is  another  point  of  contact  for  the 
power  of  God  in  reaching  the  hearts  of  men.  This  book  will  be 
the  creator  of  personal  workers  in  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  Blessed 
is  the  man  in  whose  hand  it  rests,  and  whose  soul  it  inspires.'* 

Rev.  Dr.  William  F.  Warren,  President  of  Boston  University, 
writes  : 

"  'Soul  Winning  Stories'  is  a  volume  of  fascinating  interest 
to  the  Christian  reader.  No  right-minded  minister  can  read  it 
without  obtaining  fresh  inspiration  for  his  work." 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  C.  Bragdon,  President  of  La  Salle  Seminary, 
Auburndale,  Mass.,  says : 

"  The  book  must  be  an  inspiration  to  preacher  or  layman  who 
loves  God  and  is  hungry  for  souls,  and  will  make  many  hungry 
for  souls  who  are  not  so  now.  I  wish  every  preacher  in  the 
land  could  have  a  copy  !  " 

Rev.  Dr.  John  Balcom  Shaw,  the  Evangelistic  Pastor  of  the 
West  End  Presbyterian  Church,  writes  : 

"  1  have  just  completed  '  Soul  Winning  Stories '  and  I  cannot 
tell  how  truly  I  have  enjoyed  it.  These  stories  are  so  interestingly 
told,  and  breathe  so  thoroughly  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  that  I 
am  sure  they  will  wield  the  most  wholesome  influence.  I  wish 
every  Christian  man  and  woman  in  America  could  read  them, 
for  no  one  can  lay  down  the  book  without  a  deeper  desire  to  be 
a  winner  of  souls." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  }.  W.  Bashford,  President  of  the  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan  University  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  writes  : 

"  '  Soul  Winning  Stories?'  by  Louis  Albert  Banks,  have  the 
flavor  of  the  wild  West,  while  they  are  full  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel.  They  are  an  Oregon  twentieth-century  version  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Boys  will  read  them,  and  ministers  will 
be  profited  by  them." 

A  copy  of  "Soul  Winning  Stories"  will  be  sent,  postpaid,  upon 
receipt  of  $1.00.    It  Is  bound  in  cloth,  and  contains  223  pages. 


AMERICAN     TRACT     SOCIETY,     NEW    YORK 


The  Glory  and  Joy 
of  the  Resurrection 

By  JAMES  PATON,  DJX    Cloth,  277  pp.          $1.00 

The  author  of  this  splendid  book  states  that  the  height  of 
his  ambition  is  that  to  devout  readers  of  his  book  "  there  may 
come  some  portion  of  the  glory  and  joy  which  manifestly  thrilled 
the  heart  and  fired  the  brain  of  the  followers  of  Jesus  in  those 
Early  Apostolic  Days." 

The  following  press  notices  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
author's  success  in  attaining  his  object,  viz. : 

"The  »uthor  writes  with  the  deep  "  Dr.  Paton  believes  In  the  Resur- 

spiritual  fervor  of  a  man  convinced  rection,  and  he  lifts  the  soul  of  his 

of  the  reality  of  a  living  Christ.1'—  reader  on  the  same  wings  of  faith 

Tbt  "Bookseller.  that  bear  him  up."  —  Tot  Morning 

"Many  will  be  strengthened  and  Star. 

blessed   in  reading  these   pages."—  "The    reader    will    find    himself 

Tbt  Christian  Guardian.  carried  along  by  both  his  arguments 

"  The  volume  is  a  valuable  one  in  ""•    his    fervor."  —  Tbt    Lutheran 

hs  contents,  and  written  in  a  style  Observer. 

that  is  virile,  convincing  and  inspir-  "Personal    conviction    of  the 

ing." — The  Standard.  presence  of  a  living  Christ  may  be 

"Biblical,   argumentative  and  de-  strengthened  by  this  book."  — T*» 

votional."-L./<rarr  World.  Congrtgattonalnt. 

"  A  unique  treatment  of  the  sub-  "  Jh«  volume  is  sure  to  do  great 

jectoftheResurrection."-C*n'»/M«  K«xl  by  turning    the  thoughts    of 

Union  Herald.  m«"y  .,to'hls   Kr«at    B"d    Klorious 

u     1.1-1.     r»     D.  truth.   -—  tf  etlem  Recorder. 

"All  will  be  thankful  to  Dr.  Paton 

for  his  systematic  and  helpful  presen-  "A  valuable  study  of  the  Hesi- 
tation of  the  subject. "  -  Pittiburg  rection  ;~C*ru/r««  Work  and 
Christian  Advocate.  Evangelut. 

"  Clear,  analytical  and  spiritually  ••  Time  spent  la  reading  this  book 

stimulating."—  Tbt  Watchman.  wui  be  a  profitable  investment."— 

"Earnest,  devout  and  spiritual."  Maryland  Christian  Endeavor. 

— Christian  Intelligencer.  "  The  reader  will  be  surprised  and 

"A    clear-cut    statement   of   the  greatly  stirred  and  quickened  by  th« 

Scriptural    basis  for  a  belief  in  the  accumulating  testimony  to  the  his- 

Resurrection."-  Auburn  Seminary  torical  fact  and  its  vast  importance. 

Review  At  the  close,  he  will,  with  the  author, 

__., v.-j  bow  his  heart  and  worship  and  obey 

•Scholarship  and  devotion  go  hand  ^  rf$en  Jnd    ,orifitd  5^  of  M.n/' 

in  hand  in  this  book/'-TA*  Living  _Ctnlrat  I'relbyterian. 
Church. 

AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY,   NEW  YORK 


BY   LEAPS   AND    BOUNDS 

New    Te  s  t  am  e  n  t 
with   Notes    $LOO 

POCKET   EDITION 

'Printed  on  fine,  thin  paper,   bound  in  leather,  divinity 
circuit,  red  under  gold  edges.      Size,  5%x3%x%  inches. 

18  MONTHS  AGO  we  advertised  that  we  had  sold 
upwards  of  175,000  COPIES  of  the  New  Testament  with 
notes,  instructions  and  references.  6  MONTHS  AGO  we 
advertised  that  the  sales  of  this  book  amounted  to  185,000 
COPIES.  We  NOW  announce  the  book  as  having  sold 
up  to  195,000  COPIES. 

Surely  a  book  of  this  character,  with  such  a  sale,  must 
have  merit. 

The  salient  feature  of  this  work  is,  that  on  tbe  same  page 
you  have  the  Scripture,  References  and  Commentary,  all  in 
such  a  convenient  size  that  it  can  be  carried  in  the  pocket. 

Oar  Aim  is  to  Sett   ONE  MILLION  COPIES 

Send  us  ONE  DOLLAR,  for  which  a  copy  will  be 
sent  you  postpaid,  and  we  are  sure  you  will  not  only  be 
satisfied  with  your  purchase,  but  will  wonder  how  the  book 
was  ever  made  for  that  amount. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY 

150  NASSAU  STREET  NEW  YORK 


UC  SOUTHS*  WGOOi  IJWJ 


A     000127750     8 


